Cautious Welcome to Reports of Referendum on Electoral Reform

Published: Tuesday, December 1st 2009

The Electoral Reform Society has responded with caution to reports that the Government might be planning a referendum on a change to the voting system.

Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society, Ken Ritchie said:

“We will be delighted if the Government gets around to backing voting reform before it is too late for it to do so, but we are not opening the champagne just yet.

“We are concerned that any referendum might only be on the Alternative Vote system (AV). AV is unlikely to move us to a better style of politics. That would require a system that would give us a more representative parliament, which is why we will continue arguing for the Single Transferable Vote system. 

 “Any moves the Government makes in the right direction will be welcome, but when the debate reaches parliament we hope politicians of all parties will recognise the need to go beyond AV. Politics has been badly damaged by the expenses scandal and we now need something much more radical to make it clear politicians accept the need for change.”

Contacts:

For further information contact: Carina Trimingham: 07768 333530

or Ken Ritchie: 0775 416 5551