Bexhill MP rejects the AV voting system

BEXHILL MP Greg Barker launched a local 'No to AV' (alternative voting) campaign in Devonshire Square recently, gathering with supporters to urge people to get out and vote '˜no' in the Referendum on May 5.

Speaking in favour of keeping the present “first past the post” system, Mr Barker said: “The AV referendum on May 5 is one of the most important political events in years.

“I believe AV is the wrong system for Britain. It is complex, doesn’t improve fairness and is used by only three other countries in the world. In Australia where they have it, six out of 10 people want to get rid of it! Even the ‘yes’ campaigners don’t really want AV – they’ve argued before that it’s a system that doesn’t work but they see it as a stepping stone to more reforms.”

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Mr Barker said that an independent commission chaired by a senior Lib Dem had concluded that AV was “even less proportional” than our existing system, and warned that it was “‘disturbingly unpredictable”.

He added: “A ‘no’ vote is not a vote against political reform, it is a vote against an expensive, discredited process with doesn’t work. The principle of ‘one person – one vote’ is fundamental to our democracy here in Britain and we should fight to protect it.”

PICTURED: MP Greg Barker with fellow No to AV campaigners