As a result, voters that identify with smaller parties might feel they do not have an MP who effectively represents their point of view. For parties in Parliament?
Parliament would likely be dominated by a small number of large parties. Popular regionally-based parties may also win seats. Smaller parties with dispersed support would have difficulty winning a specific riding to send an MP to Ottawa. AV allows similar parties to coexist, which may result in coalition government s of like-minded parties. The significant influence of the party leader on local electoral success often helps to strengthen party discipline among MPs within a party.
Increasing diversity in Parliament depends on more women, visible minorities and other diverse Canadians running and winning the local party nomination—a process managed internally by political parties. For governing? Many forms of government are possible under AV. A single-party majority or a coalition of like-minded parties may form a majority government. Such governments can usually enact legislation without difficulty.
As with all systems, the prime minister still needs to maintain the support of MPs in his or her own party on confidence motions such as the budget or the speech from the throne. Opposition parties have little influence in a majority situation. When no single party or like-minded coalition holds more than half of seats, the result is a minority government. They can put numbers on as many or as few as they wish.
If more than half the voters have the same favourite candidate, that person becomes the MP. If nobody gets half, the numbers provide instructions for what happens next. The counters remove whoever came last and look at the ballot papers with that candidate as their favourite. This process repeated until one candidate has half of the votes and becomes the MP.
Voters can vote for their favourite candidate without worrying about wasting their vote. Unlike hosting a run-off vote to decide the winner, the Alternative Vote uses a single ballot and avoids the need for tactical voting to stop a disliked candidate getting into the final round. As extremist candidates on the political fringes are likely to be the first to be excluded, the Alternative Vote tends to work against candidates who are polarising and help those who are broadly liked.
Join our email list to get up to date analysis of the broken system sitting at the heart of the political system. In that instance, whoever ends up with the most votes wins. No, which is why Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats — long in favour of switching to a PR system — called it "a miserable little compromise" before the general election. The Lib Dems have long supported the single transferable vote, a proportional system that would consolidate existing and, under AV, single-MP constituencies into much larger multi-member constituencies.
It is used in a number of internal elections, such as those for some unions and political parties, for example. Most recently, the Labour leadership election that saw Ed Miliband elected allowed for candidates to be ranked in preference order. The referendum was the result of coalition negotiations after the general election in , despite the fact that neither the Conservatives nor the Liberal Democrats wanted it. Tories fear the party would struggle to ever form a majority government again under AV, while the Liberal Democrats campaigned for proportional representation — which AV isn't.
The only party for AV was Labour, which promised a referendum in its manifesto but is now the most split on the issue. Many Conservatives are unhappy about the timing, which they say it will lead to a distorted turnout, with those in areas in which there are no elections, such as London, being less likely to vote.
Around 46 million people will be eligible to vote, the same as at a general election — British citizens plus Irish and Commonwealth citizens who are resident in the UK. Peers cannot vote at a general election, but can vote in the referendum. It would end the "jobs for life" culture in safe constituency seats campaigners point to MPs in safe seats who were embroiled in the expenses scandal that hit the previous parliament.
It would encourage more people to vote, because voters would feel that their say matters more. Campaigners say many are deterred from participating because under first past the post because they feel their vote is wasted. AV is moving with the times: two-party dominance has made way for a more pluralist system notably in devolved Scotland and Wales. It eliminates the need for tactical voting.
Electors can vote for their first-choice candidate without fear of wasting their vote. A switch to AV would not mean changing the current MP-constituency link.
Supporters say the system would make it more difficult for extremist parties to win an election, because they would be unlikely to secure many second or third preference votes. It encourages candidates to chase second and third preferences, which lessens the attractions of negative campaigning one doesn't want to alienate the supporters of another candidate whose second preferences one wants and rewards broad church policies.
First past the post is the fairest system because it is based on the principle of one person, one vote. AV is a "losers' charter" where the candidate who comes second or third in first preferences can actually be elected. Some votes will count more than others : If a voter gives their first preference vote to a mainstream party, their other preferences may not be counted. But if they vote for a fringe party candidate who gets knocked out, their other preferences will count.
AV is a "politicians' fix" because, instead of the voters choosing the government, it would lead to more hung parliaments and backroom coalition deals. Critics counter that the current coalition was a result of first past the post and that AV is unlikely to lead to more coalitions because it is not PR. The referendum is overseen by the Electoral Commission. Votes will begin to be counted at BST on 6 May, the day after the poll. The outcome of the referendum is expected to be known later that evening.
Australia is the only major democracy to use the same type of AV system as the one being proposed for the UK, but voting is compulsory there. Papua New Guinea and Fiji also use AV - but most democracies use versions of proportional representation or first-past-the-post.
Yes to fairer votes. To see the enhanced content on this page, you need to have JavaScript enabled and Adobe Flash installed. What will the referendum be about? What happens at the moment? How does AV work?
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