Morning Report: March 16th

Today is a day that both begins and ends with AV. This morning the Labour No to AV campaign has its official launch with an event on college green this morning. As we noted last month the group have a website up and running, but this campaign launch should see a ramping up of their efforts. Shadow health secretary John Healey has been especially scathing about AV, and in a statement today said:

“AV is not a new dawn for democracy. It’s a dreadful system for electing MPs and choosing a Government. AV would hand power to Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems – the kingmakers in any hung Parliament.”

Healey’s is probably the strongest attack on the system from any member of the shadow cabinet, which suggests that the gloves are off. Healey has also slammed AV in an article for today’s independent.

Tonight the Labour Yes campaign will also have their official launch – although they have been quite visible in Labour circles for quite some time now – at an event this evening with Ed Miliband and Ken Livingstone. Tonight’s event is billed as Ed Miliband’s first major speech on AV since he became leader. We’ll be keeping our list of Labour MPs views on AV up to date in the coming days as more party figures announce which way they’re voting.

Elsewhere in Westminster today, we’ll have PMQs (lets hope it’s more of a spectacle than last week), and an NEC panel will be interviewing people from the mysterious longlist to produce a shortlist for Leicester South, which should be known by the end of today. We’ll try and bring you the remaining longlist names (and the names that make the shortlist).