Clegg 'has made a huge mistake' on voting reform Bill

As the House of Commons prepares for committee stage debate on the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill tomorrow, Mr Khan said Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg had made a “huge mistake” by combining voting reform with proposals to reduce the number of MPs.

He hit out at the proposed date of a plebiscite on moving to the Alternative Vote (AV) system – where candidates are ranked in order of preference – saying the “jumbled together” Bill had managed to “alienate” those in favour of scrapping first-past-the-post.

Mr Khan also suggested the coalition Government’s unpopularity could result in voters opposing the change, losing the chance to reform first-past-the post for a generation.

And he said: “I don’t believe that Parliament will simply buckle to what Nick Clegg is saying. I don’t think we are impotent. I think the House of Commons and the House of Lords will change this Bill. I hope they do.”

The legislation paving the way for a referendum on May 5 next year has already received a second reading in the Commons, but exposed bitter divisions within the coalition as several Tories spoke out against AV and the cost of the plans.

There has also been opposition to holding the referendum on the same day as voters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland elect members of their devolved legislatures and many areas of England have council elections.

Mr Khan stepped up criticism on the Government for also including measures to reduce the number of MPs from 650 to 600 and make constituency sizes more equal.

He said: “I think Nick Clegg has made a huge mistake. What he has managed to do in a short space of time is various progressives like myself and many others who believe that we should have a referendum on changing the voting system – I personally am in favour of the AV voting system – he has put us in a corner.

“Because what he is doing is he has jumbled together in one Bill boundary changes, he has bundled together in one Bill changing the size of our Parliament, he is rushing through the referendum on May 5, 2011 – the day when there will be elections in other parts of the country, not in London.

“And what he has managed to do is alienate people who should be his natural supporters. And what I’m hoping Nick will do is listen to what we are saying.”