It’s that time of year again – election season. This time round we not only have local elections but a referendum as well. Referendums are important mainly because they’re rare but also because they affect the entire UK.
If you live in the UK you should have received a booklet from the electoral commission telling you all about this. If you didn’t get one you can download it from [THIS WEBPAGE] – Just click your country (England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland).
Alternatively (see what I did there?) you can check out the links below for analogies explaining AV. Keep in mind they are somewhat biased in their representations but it’s all very light-hearted – make up your own mind by all means :)
AV explained with an X-Factor Analogy: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-if-you-get-the-x-factor-youll-get-av-2271058.html
AV explained with Cats (video): http://www.jamesdoc.co.uk/2011/04/av-explained-with-cats.html
AV explained with a Pub/Coffee Shop Analogy (video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm5IBhrq_PU
I’d also like to take a brief moment to recommend this short piece by Shane Croucher:
My personal view is that Proportional Representation (PR) is what we, as a democratic nation, should be both looking for and heading for. I agree with Shane that some people are getting confused between AV and PR - contrary to popular belief, they are not the same thing!
I also agree that AV will not necessarily or automatically lead to PR but I think AV is a step in the right direction in the sense that it’s closer to PR than the ‘First Past the Post’ system. To put it another way, I think AV is a substitute, a consolation prize, a lesser of 2 evils and as such we should vote for it but not stop there – afterwards we should campaign for a future referendum to put in place full PR or ‘AV-Plus’ as Johann calls it (see first link for reference).
I also agree that AV will not necessarily or automatically lead to PR but I think AV is a step in the right direction in the sense that it’s closer to PR than the ‘First Past the Post’ system. To put it another way, I think AV is a substitute, a consolation prize, a lesser of 2 evils and as such we should vote for it but not stop there – afterwards we should campaign for a future referendum to put in place full PR or ‘AV-Plus’ as Johann calls it (see first link for reference).
If I were voting on Thursday I would be voting for AV but alas, the postal service has lost my form and therefore I am not registered. That’s a whole different story though (well, more of a rant really)!
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