Labour No to AV campaign gains party heavyweights

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

The No to AV campaign has announced its patrons this evening. On the Labour side the list is dominated by former ministers from the Blair era (with the notable exception of staunch AV opponent Emily Thornberry from Ed’s “New Generation”).

Former Labour foreign secretary Margaret Beckett will be the President of the campaign, and said tonight that:

“This is so important it has to rise above party politics. Only three other countries use AV and one, Fiji, is abandoning it. It led to a significant drop in the number of people voting in Australia – that’s why they had to make voting compulsory. AV doesn’t help democracy, it stands in its way.”

The Labour patrons of the campaign are:

David Blunkett MP

Lord Falconer QC

Lord Prescott

Lord Reid

Emily Thornberry MP

On the Tory side there are four current cabinet members, and former minister Steve Norris