Nobody wants to stuff the BNP more than me

By David Lammy MP

Conservatives have a long history of using every tool at their disposal to fight against democratic reform. Recently, Baroness Warsi told people not to back the Alternative Vote because it would increase the influence of the BNP. If that is the case, why are the BNP and Nick Griffin actively campaigning for a No vote in the referendum?

The BNP succeeds when voters feel that their voices are left to go unheard. When Labour people stop going to the top of the tower blocks, or stop visiting the suburbs, people rightly feel that we don’t care about them. That’s what happens when just 1.6% of the electorate determine the outcome of elections – politicians stop caring about the other 98.4%. That’s what happens with our current voting system, which is why extremists like the BNP like it. It gives them their best chance of success.

Baroness Warsi says that BNP votes would count more under AV. She’s wrong – under AV, everyone’s vote would count more. With the AV system, all MPs would need broad support from across the community, since candidates need to aim for 50% of the vote. At present, no MP needs 50% of the vote to be elected – a BNP MP could be elected with just a third of the votes. Is Baroness Warsi saying it is easier for the BNP to get half the votes than it is to get a third?

Getting half the votes means knocking on every door in every road in every constituency. We will have to do more and listen more, and that isn’t going to benefit the BNP. AV empowers the democratic majority and penalises candidates that are very unpopular with most voters. Very few voters would give the BNP their second preference. How will the BNP get a majority of votes without getting any second preferences? That’s why respected pollster Peter Kellner calls AV “the worst possible voting system” for the BNP. Nick Griffin knows that his extreme views alienate more people than they attract, which is why he wants to see it defeated.

Nobody wants to stuff the BNP more than me. Their politics are vile and, like mould, they thrive in the shadows. We have a chance to boot them out, once and for all. Don’t back Nick Griffin’s favourite system – vote yes to AV on May 5th.