Politcs interests me. But I dont get the new AVvoting system

[GabbyLoggon]

I just dont understand AV

The Liberals want it, but some Labour bigwigs have come out against it today

I could support a different kind of prop representation

I am unsure about AV.

It gives the voter marginally more power, but at the same time, makes landslides more likely, makes coalitions more likely, and leads to "least worst" bland candidates.

Whilst I want the coalition to continue, the idea that coalitions are better for governance than majorities has been shown up for the farce it is. Look at the Tories on Europe, justice policy, etc. Whilst I actually agree with the new liberal direction in justice, it is nothing like what the Tories promised in their manifesto. Or look at the Lib Dems on tuition fees and VAT. Coalitions are just an excuse to disenfranchise voters and do cosy stitch-ups between political elites. I don't want any voting system that either breaks the constituency link, or makes coalitions more likely.

I completely agree with you longfingernails. There is a surface attraction to the idea of AV and other forms of PR but I want something that actually works well in practice. In my book this means a system that gives us government that is not only democratic but also effective and accountable. I think that - although not perfect - FPTP strikes just about the right balance between these requirements.

I like it better than FPTP, though it obviously isn't a great form of PR.

I do like the fact that you don't have to vote tactically or loose your say altogether. I like the fact that to win the MP needs at least some support from at least half of the voters in their constituency.

Far preferable to my existing MP being able to win forever on about a third of the vote.

Yes to AV isn't a Lib Dem organisation; it's mostly cross party (and no party at all) grassroots who are pretty fed up of their vote not counting at all, or being forced to vote for someone they don't mind as much as the other large party candidate. AV would enable us to see how many people would actually vote for small parties and independents rather than just which areas hate Labour or the Tories, or maybe the Lib Dems now too, enough to vote for whoever is most likely to beat them in that constituency.