(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Two-in-five adults in Britain would change the current electoral system, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 40 per cent of respondents would cast a ballot in favour of the alternative vote system in a referendum, while 31 per cent would retain the first past the post approach.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Two-in-five adults in Britain would change the current electoral system, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 40 per cent of respondents would cast a ballot in favour of the alternative vote system in a referendum, while 31 per cent would retain the first past the post approach.
Under the first past the post system, candidates win seats in the House of Commons by getting more votes than any rival in a specific constituency.
Earlier this month, British prime minister Gordon Brown proposed adopting the alternative vote system, which allows voters to rank their first, second and third preference in a specific constituency so that, if no candidate gets 50 per cent of the first-choice votes, the second and third choices are added to the tallies until a candidate achieves a majority.
Brown explained the rationale for the proposed change, declaring, "The current movement for constitutional change and new politics is of historic importance. It signals the demand for a decisive shift in the balance of power in Britain, a long overdue transfer of sovereignty from those who govern to those who are governed, from the old outdated sovereignty to a modern popular sovereignty, not just tidying up our constitution but transforming it."
If the Labour party forms the government after this year’s general election, Brown has proposed holding a referendum on whether to change the electoral system in October 2011.
The next election to the House of Commons must be held on or before Jun. 3. Sitting prime ministers can dissolve Parliament and call an early ballot at their discretion.
Polling Data
If there were a referendum and given what you currently know about the two systems, how would you vote in a referendum if the question were: Do you think General Elections in the UK should use the ‘first past the post’ or the ‘alternative vote’ system?
|
Alternative vote |
40% |
|
First past the post |
31% |
|
Would not vote |
6% |
|
Don’t know |
23% |
Source: Angus Reid Public Opinion
Methodology: Online interviews with 2,010 British adults, conducted on Feb. 2 and Feb. 3, 2010. Margin of error is 2.2 per cent.
