Iโm an old IT pro. Co-mum to Tig and Freddie, rescued Border Collies x Welsh Sheepdogs. They are the latest of our greatly loved and now hugely missed dogs.
The Coalition agreed on a referendum on AV as a compromise. The Lib Dems' (and most electoral reform campaigners') preferred voting system is Single Transferrable Vote, which is effectively AV but with multi-member constituencies instead of single-member. STV is used in the Republic of Ireland and delivers proportional results whilst maintaining the existence of geographic constituency links - generally considered two desirable features of a voting system (along with preferentialism, a feature AV and STV both have).
If we could have made the switch to AV then it would have been only a short step from there to STV a few years later. But the Tories campaigned heavily against it, and Labour were highly divided on electoral reform so were officially neutral but in practice a majority of Labour MPs backed the 'no' campaign. So the referendum failed.
Tory peer Michelle Mone bought herself a yacht with profits from useless NHS protective gear. If Rishi Sunak is serious about restoring faith in politics, he should start here.
Coogan and Vorderman back Liberal Democrats' electoral reform pledge (www.bbc.co.uk)
Actor Steve Coogan and presenter Carol Vorderman have backed Liberal Democrat pledges to reform how the UKโs general elections are run.
TNE cover: Stop THIS Boat (www.theneweuropean.co.uk)
Tory peer Michelle Mone bought herself a yacht with profits from useless NHS protective gear. If Rishi Sunak is serious about restoring faith in politics, he should start here.