Why I Begrudgingly Voted YES to the Alternative Vote

It was in the Coalition Agreement to hold a referendum for the Alternative Vote.

I have now been a Lib Dem member for exactly 25 years, having joined via the SDP (the Social Democratic Party) which merged with the Liberal Party in 1988 and I have always been campaigning at General Elections for PR (proportional representation), but I can admit I am not fully conversant in all the alternatives to FPTP and the benefits and disadvantages of each system. One thing I did know was that FPTP had had its day as we were no longer a 2 party democracy and in Wales, Scotland you also have Plaid or the SNP, whilst in Northern Ireland, there's a plethora of parties and we needed a system whereby EVERY person's vote counted.

I was never a supporter of AV as its only operating in Australia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. But then, the world is not queuing up to change to FPTP as the benefits attributed to it by David Cameron and others, do not seem to attract supporters around the world.

I had completed my 2 postal ballot papers for the Welsh Assembly, with no difficulty. However, I was in a quandary as to whether vote for a slightly better system, or stick to my view that we sould get it right first time or stay with FPTP.

The referendum ballot paper remained blank until the literature came in from the No2AV supporters and it did not take much effort to see that the fears they we espousing were no difference to the view that some people make out that we are surrounded by crime and that crime is out of control.

The No2AV group were trying to spread fear when there was nothing there to fear.

I especially am offended that in Wales we have 4 main parties and if they all had roughly equal supportof about 25% each, there could be a winner under FPTP with 25.1% of the vote. The supporters of FPTP seem to be happy to say that is democracy in which 74.9% of the constituency may have NOT voted for the winning candidate.

I quite a few elections I have technically wasted my vote but I want a system in which EVERYONE's vote counts. No wonder so many people are cynical in our democracy if they feel isolated as a certain candidate will win, regardless.

AV may not be perfect, but we have to change our electoral system as the present system does not serve us to its best.

25 years ago, I never imagined that the Lib Dems would ever be part of Governement. Even then, I never thought we would get control in local government, but it happened. So I would like to think that I will live to see a system of voting that involves proportional representation and that AV may be the stepping stone.

Whether the referendum succeeds or not, FPTP is living on borrowed time and the reasons the No2AV group give are nothing more than a joke, designed to create fear.

I begrudgingly voted for AV, but I do wish that we had been given the option to vote for PR, instead.

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