Vote campaign takes aim at high cost of proposals

Switching to the Alternative Vote (AV) electoral system would be “dangerous” for democracy and cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds, opponents have claimed.

The NOtoAV campaign intensified its attack on the proposal as the coalition attempted to push through legislation to trigger a national poll on May 5.

Fertility expert Lord Winston yesterday told a press conference in Westminster: “Until recently I think I would have been in favour of an AV system or some method of changing the system for how we elect representatives in the house of Commons.

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“It is only from seeing the consequences of a hung parliament that has made me understand the danger that we have.”

The Labour peer said the lack of a clear general election winner meant the Government was introducing controversial changes, including reforms to the health service, without a mandate.

He went on: “There hasn’t been a proper public debate (on AV) and in my view there needs to be very thorough consideration before we actually vote on a system which many of us will see as deeply flawed.”

The director of the No campaign, Matthew Elliott, branded the mooted ballot “Nick Clegg’s referendum”, and said AV would leave the country at the mercy of “political fixes”.

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He claimed the complex system for choosing MPs would require electronic counting machines at a cost of £130m and £26m of voter re-education.

On top of that would be the £82m cost of the referendum itself and £9m to inform the electorate about the issues ahead of May 5’s planned vote.

Costs were likely to be still further inflated by a need for extra polling stations, election staff training and machine-readable ballot papers, the campaign said.

“The British people will be staggered to learn that our politicians are considering squandering £250m of taxpayers’ money on a new voting system at a time when they are being told to tighten their belts,” Mr Elliott added.

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But the ‘Yes’ campaign dismissed the figures as “fantasy”, pointing out that the referendum costs were being incurred anyway, and Australia used AV without voting machines.

Katie Ghose, chairman of the Yes to Fairer Votes campaign, said: “Their make-believe machines don’t exist in Australia and won’t exist in the UK.”

Actors Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter, fresh from their Bafta success for The King’s Speech, have been unveiled as celebrity members of the Yes camp.

But the No campaign denied they were lacking “glitz and glamour”.

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Lord Winston said: “I think they are lovely people, not that I know them. But you could argue that there is a bit of a risk having celebrities supporting a cause when you haven’t had a debate over what the dangers are.”

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