If there is any chance this will end the coalition, by voting No, this is what we need. Like me, thousands of people are under attack, losing job, home, benefits. We don't have the luxury of voting Yes, talking about the longterm. Sorry but this is the fact of the matter.

All Kuffars then Mehdi.

What a disappointment that the referendum will be on two disproportionate voting systems. STV would be my preference but the Libdems negotiated the coalition agreement poorly.

Predictions on who would benefit by AV fanciful - no one really knows, transfers tend to be unpredictable. It is, also, insulting to argue that anything but FPTP would be too complicated for the electorate

Adam,
I'm afraid Mehdi has tainted everything he will ever say with his medieval views on non muslims. If he decides one day to revoke those views publicy then perhaps he might be able to participate in mature debate. Meanwhile I will take every opportunity to remind people of his uncivilised views. As for calling me a twit.....

FPTP may not be perfect but it sure beats the alternative. The problem isn't with the voting system it's with the politicians that get elected and the motivation that many of them have to push single issues. The current coalition is making a decent hash of a real bag of nails left by a small cabal of Brownites, this particular situation has arisen from a FPTP election. Meanwhile it would be extrememly foolish to disregard Mehdi's views on non Muslims.
Lest we forget.....

Along with others, i'm not convinced AV would strengthen our democracy, it may even course more division and lead to fragmented governments, with small and newly created parties holding the balance of power. Labour could be the great loser if AV comes about. Some on the political-left should be careful for what they wish for.

Nice try Mehdi. I dislike lots of those guys too but AV threatens to take political influence away from less politically knowledgeable, entrench liberal veto, strenghten elite bargaining relative to public opinion,suck legitimacy out of the British electoral system and deliver reactionary liberal rump to Tories. Wake up to the threat of Liberal Democrat rent seeking.
TTFN
Tugs+Tost

Dear God! Murdoch looks like a scrotum that's spent too long in a hot bath.

AV is a start, considering the number of MPs elected on a minority of votes at the moment.
The NO campaign are getting increasinly desperate, as the responses here show...

"If we're going to get all schoolgroundish about it"...yes you have been a bit schoolgirlish with this one.

"not just because our existing first-past-the-post system is undemocratic, unfair, biased and broken"...No it's not...that's what AV is...as well as being expensive (just think of all those lovely vote counting machines that "Aren't Required", but will be after the first election goes tits-up!)

"I'd rather wipe the smile of these people's faces. Wouldn't you?
"...Well I'd agree about Nick Griffin but the rest...no, not really (& Blunkett never smiles anyway!).

Pretty poor if that's all a "yes" supporter can come up with.

What an absurd reason for voting Yes - especially as Nick Griffin would gain from a Yes vote.

The No campaign is being fronted by historians and scientists. The Yes campaign is being fronted by actors and comedians (including half the cast of 'Blackadder'). Is this the end of serious politics as we have known it - or merely its funeral?

The plan, which is to allow the Socialists and Liberals to double-up their votes, thus keeping Nick Clegg in office until he dies, is so patently obvious that everyone can see it. Why can't we at least be honest?

@Karl

Well if you're a Tory/Labour/LibDem voter (maybe also Plaid & SNP depending where you live), chances are you'll only get 1 vote in most constituencies anyway...the same as the FPTP system...as one of those parties wins most of the seats.

If you're not, then you're supporting one of the more minor parties...e.g BNP, Green, Monster Raving Looney etc. Sorry, that hardly makes you a more nuanced voter!

@writeoff

"the FPTP plan is to keep a right wing minority government in power until the end of time "

Er..what on earth are you talking about?? Since when will FPTP keep a right-wing party in power? Or is history wrong and we've never had a Labour Government?

Mehdi, why are you staying so quiet on Libya?

Australia: 90 years of AV, no counting machines. Ireland: 90 years of STV (a far more complex system of preferential voting), no counting machines.

The No campaign is nothing but a cynical and shameless parade of misrepresentations, half truths and downright lies - see http://bit.ly/ifQQIr. Sadly, if you repeat a lie often enough people will start believing it - and it could even be that some people are more easily taken in by a big lie than to a small one. AV gives more power to the voter and involves far more of us in the process of choosing our MP: and no amount of obfuscation by the No camp can alter that fact.

But whatever the electoral system, always remember this:

No diet will remove all the fat from your body because the brain is entirely fat. Without a brain, you might look good, but all you could do is run for public office.
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

AV will not help smaller parties win seats, but it will result in a more representative vote, because the underlying support for smaller parties will appear in the first preference.

Also AV could result in even bigger majorities for Labour or Conservative and this would incite calls for further reform.

Lets hope that AV does come about.
But the Referendum should only count if there is a 40% turnout. And that is possible because its held on the same day as local elections. If turnout falls below 30% then the result should be void.
Some of those pros and cons featured in the above article are political has beens and enough to scare off any potential voter.

Mehdi, it is poor taste to put Nick Griffin in this list. Do not descend to the No to AV campaign's level.

However, the thrust of this article, that those voting No for strategical political reasons have completely lost hold of their senses, is entirely right and needs to be made forcibly during the forthcoming weeks. There is only one strategical winner from a No vote: David Cameron.

To ALL Labour party members and activists, I am trying to emphasises how unmanageable Cameron will be, should the referendum be returned with a negative. Try to picture the vision of a Prime Minister who has:

1. In a classic Blairite move, stuck two fingers up to the unreconstructed, unelectable wing of his party.

2. Despite sticking it to his party, has managed to deliver the verdict they want by going to the PUBLIC.

3. Not only has he delivered on the immediate verdict, but in all probability he has defeated proportionality for a generation.

4. Has just won a public referendum in which the two leaders of the opposition parties campaigned for a different outcome.

It is a fairly base reason to campaign on speculative strategic considerations as opposed to principle on a matter as important as constitutional reform. However, if Labour activists must do this, please realise that Yes is the better outcome for Labour.

Also, the idea that the Lib Dems or coalitions will be consistently returned by AV is completely bogus. The reason why hung parliaments are increasingly likely has little to do with the voting system and everything to do with the fact that Labour and the Tories only polled 29% and 36% of the vote respectively. If they want an outright majority, they should work harder.

You could have had pictures of John Prescott & Michael Howard there too - either or both of them would annoy most people!

To be fair to Prescott, at least he was honest on BBC Daily Politics when he said he was against AV as he believed it would harm the Labour Party, I think he is wrong, but at least he admitted that as a reason.

There are far too many lies being told by the No2AV camp and an awful lot of scaremongering, I think there are probably less lies from the Yes2AV campaign but also a lot less enthusiasm.

I will vote Yes2AV for 2 simple reasons:
I think it will help get my voice heard.
I think it is the fairest system on offer.

Ok, Mehdi. I'm always criticising you for your polemical tone but you nailed it here. It was laugh out loud and persuasive.

The sight of Andrew Roberts' throwback looks make me laugh. I too will be voting for AV - because it is better system and because its better for my political beliefs - those of the centre-left.

Anyone who is centre-left should vote for AV. Electoral reform is more important than Nick Clegg being slapped.

There's a good reason why Cameron doesn't want AV - it sure isn't because he thinks AV will help him but he's choosing to be masochistic. Remember, the next election will be fought on equalised constituencies. Without AV the centre-left is at a disadvantage.