Labours Alternative Voting system – do you understand it?
This system is already in use in the UK, it is the system used to elect a Mayor of London, and is simple really. You can vote for one candidate if you like, or you may rank them in order of preference. To be elected, the winner needs 50%+1 of the votes cast. If nobody wins 50%+1 of the votes cast, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, his 2nd preference votes are re-distributed and the votes are re-counted, until someone wins the required threshold. This AV (also known as instant run off voting) is used in parliamentary elections in Australia. Labour would like to use this method in all parliamentary constituencies. One of the problems with our current system is that lots of seats are won on less than 50% of the votes cast, indeed many are won on less than 40%, and some are even won on less than 30% if there are lots of candidates splitting the vote. AV is not proportional representation. It may not necessarily vastly change the outcome of general elections. But it may be
