James Duddridge, Member of Parliament for Rochford and Southend East, and David Amess, Member of Parliament for Southend West, hosted a No to AV campaign stall in Southend High Street.
The Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition Government has agreed legislation to hold a referendum on a change of the voting system for Westminster Parliamentary elections. This was one of the things demanded by the Liberal Democrats during the coalition negotiations. The two parties in the coalition will be campaigning for different outcomes.
The Alternative Vote system allows voters to rank candidates by preference (1 for most preferred, 2 for second, and so on) and the candidate receiving more than 50% of the vote would win the election. If a majority isn’t reached, the lowest ranking candidate’s votes are reallocated by the second preference to the remaining candidates until one receives a majority. This process goes on until a winner claims over 50% of votes.
James said
""I am acitvely campaigning for No to AV. The alternative vote is unfair, expensive, discredited and no one wants it. There are only 3 countries use the AV system: Austrailia, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji.
I would urge everyone to make sure that they vote No to AV on 5th May 2011.""
ENDS