This week sees the first referendum held in my lifetime, allowing us to change the voting system.
The current system, first-past-the-post (FPTP), is perfect for deciding between two choices, but now we have several, with Conservative, Labour, Lib Dem, Green, UKIP, BNP, independents and more, splitting the vote and allowing a “winner” with as little as 20 per cent of support and increasing the possibility of fringe party success.
The system on offer, the alternative vote (AV), allows us to rank as many or as few candidates as we like in order of preference.
It ensures the winner has at least 50 per cent of local support and demands positive campaigns telling us what the candidate will do for us, instead of what their opponents won’t or didn’t do.
It’s not a complicated system: we cope with ranking our top two choices for mayor and I’m confident we can count high enough to manage the choices on our ballot papers.
Dawn Barnes
Cricketers Close, Southgate
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