AV is late and imperfect – but it could be Brown’s first step on the road to Damascus

Richard Robinson‘s Speech Bubble

Gordon Brown must sometimes wonder whether it’s really all worth it. If you believe one of the most recent pronouncements on his future, his political fortunes are on “life support”. Never a quitter, though, Brown’s not giving up without a fight. He has signalled his intention to serve a full term if relected.

Furthermore, just as Lazarus rose from his death bed with a new breath of life, in a flagship speech this week to the ippr, Towards a New Politics, the Prime Minister sought to inject a new and radical existence into the political realm by committing the government to a programme of constitutional change.

He confidently proclaimed:

“If we the people want a politics that is more open, more plural, more local, more democratic, and more responsive to our underlying British liberty, then we will need to have the strength to make these changes because the only way to ensure that politics serves the people’s values is to make all those who wield political power genuinely accountable to the people. That is what the new politics is all about”.

Whilst part of the speech alluded to ending the hereditary principle in the Lords in a bill before Parliament now, it is the eye catching commitment to reform of the UK Parliamentary voting system, with MPs being offered a vote on holding a referendum to scrap First Past the Post in favour of the Alternative Vote as early as next week. As progressives we should celebrate that.

AV is criticised as not being truly proportional, whilst its supporters highlight crucially that the clear link with the individual constituency is retained. It is used in Australia, and a similar system, the Supplementary Vote, is used in this country to elect the London Mayor.

I’ve been involved (though mainly in local government) in elections since 1991, and welcome a reform of the current system, and the enhancements AV will bring. Under the current system, certainly for MPs, they can be elected with as few as 1 in 5 people voting for them.

AV does offer the voter more choice, and if that in turn encourages a greater turnout, because people realise their vote is more likely to count, then this should be welcomed.

It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms. Yet surely one big question is: what would happen if Labour do not, indeed, win the election? Would the Tories be inclined to opt for anything other than for the current status quo?

If the voting public are seeking a more progressive voting system, with more choice despite its limitations, there’s another positive argument to vote for Labour as the Party that are committed to and for change.

AV is certainly not perfect. Mind you, in a perfect world we’d have compulsory voting (with an option to vote for “none of the above), a maximum wage, affordable homes for everyone, the abolition of poverty, a local income tax, greatly enhanced public transport and so on.

The Tories continue to carp from the sidelines and deride Gordon Brown’s last minute conversion to electoral reform as an election stunt. In truth, we’ve all walked our Roads to Damascus. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.