Sports stars reject AV in battle of level playing fields

Ex-Olympic rower Alex Story, who stood for the Conservatives in Wakefield in last year’s general election, was another of the 13 sportsmen and women urging people to vote No, along with former England cricket captain David Gower, double Olympic champion rower James Cracknell, Formula One team boss Sir Frank Williams, former England cricket captain David Gower and this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup winning jockey Sam Waley-Cohen.

Tory-supporting Gough said: “I talk sport every single day, four till seven, so I know a level playing field when I see it. In cricket, you’re either in or out.

“So when I played cricket for England, when I was given out, I had to walk, I had to go. You didn’t get a second chance, so why should it be any different in politics? In cricket, we have what they call the corridor of uncertainty, and if you vote yes to AV, that’s exactly what you’re getting, but in politics.”

Mr Story said: “I, like most people, want clarity. In politics, the more opaque the system, the more the politicians win, and the more the people lose. I went to the Olympic Games and I lost, but my time as an athlete was not wasted. I took part, I’m still very proud of it, and our political system must reflect the same thing: there has to be a winner, there has to be a loser.”

Yesterday Billy Bragg was among campaigners backing the “Yes” campaign at the launch of a national advertising campaign seizing on British National Party leader Nick Griffin’s support for the current first-past-the-post system.

The campaign urges people to Say No to the BNP – Say Yes on May 5th.