Art Malik: Golden opportunity to cast a fairer vote

It started back in 1689 when the Bill of Rights enshrined the right of citizens to vote for their government.

And it is still going on today, as hoards of people dressed in purple regularly take to the streets to demand urgent voting reform.

I am no politician. I am an actor. But, above this, I am a citizen passionate about our democracy.

It angers me that 70 per cent of people's votes are wasted in this country, that's more than 19 million ballots. That 29 per cent of seats have remained in the same hands since the Second World War.

That just a third of MPs received a majority of the vote in their constituency in 2010.

And that eight MPs currently sit in the Commons have each obtained the votes of fewer than a third of people in their constituency.

It is because of this that we have had to endure the mucky, unseemly and downright depressing expenses scandal. MPs who hold seats for

life have few checks and balances placed on them. They can do as

little work as they like with no consequence.

And they can abuse the system – taking what they think they deserve out of the public purse and knowing they will get away with it.

Thank goodness those MPs have had a rude awakening. But if it hadn't been for the sterling, tireless work of campaigners, those sordid expense abuses may never have seen the light.

And there is nothing to stop similar acts ever happening again. Unless we take this golden opportunity to change this electoral system once and for all.

That is why I am proud to be speaking at the rally at the Liberal Democrat conference tomorrow to support the campaign for fairer votes.

About 3,000 delegates will hear speeches from myself, former

independent MP Martin Bell and Nick Clegg – among others – extolling the virtues of a new system, the Alternative Vote.

Admittedly, it won't quite have the prestige of an address from the Pope, though it's certainly a fairer voting system then waiting for white smoke to come out of a chimney.

And for a whole host of people from across the progressive wing of politics it will almost be the next best thing.

The Alternative Vote is a simple system but infinitely fairer than the discredited First Past The Post system we now use. Instead of just placing an X in the box as at present, you rank the candidates in order of preference – as many or as few as you like.

What it means is that no MP will ever be elected again without at least 50 per cent of the local vote. And it means that all of us get an MP for our constituency who has to work harder to gain and keep our support.

No longer will we have to waste our vote on someone we don't want just in order to try and keep someone else out. Instead, we can vote for the candidate we like best, while also making the one we like least our

last choice.

It is a system that really is as easy as one, two, three. All in all, it's vastly superior to the present system and will improve politics in Britain immeasurably.

But now the hard work starts.

The referendum on changing the voting system, won by Nick Clegg in his negotiations with the Conservatives before agreeing to a coalition, will probably take place on May 5 next year. That gives us less than eight months to help persuade our friends, family, colleagues and neighbours to vote in the referendum for the Alternative Vote.

Opponents of electoral reform will try to use scare tactics to secure our vote or keep us at home. They know that logic is not on their side so instead will try to pretend that the Alternative Vote will allow in parties like the BNP.

What codswallop. Can you imagine a situation where the BNP poll more than 50 per cent of the vote in your constituency?

The best the party did in Yorkshire in May was poll 10.4 per cent in Rotherham. And it is not the sort of party that will gain many votes from second preferences.

But we cannot just leave this fight for voting reform up to a band of activists, no matter how committed or passionately they care about it.

This is a battle that all of us should be fighting. All of us who want our MPs to work harder to get elected, all those who want our MPs to work harder to keep their seats.

All those who want more say in who speaks on their behalf, who don't want to waste their vote ever again on someone they do not support.

This is a fight for all of us – Labour, Lib Dem or Tory – who want a better, more responsive democracy.

We have just eight months to win this battle and will need to work hard. But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we must not let it slip through our fingers.

Art Malik is an actor who has starred in The Jewel in the Crown, The Living Daylights, True Lies and Holby City, as well as fronting the recent Disasters Emergency Committee appeal for the victims of the Pakistan floods. He will next be seen in the BBC revival of Upstairs, Downstairs.