Tories Select New Leader By AV But “Too Complex” for Voters (South East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats)

South East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats <info@secambslibdems.org.uk>

Tories Select New Leader By AV But “Too Complex” for Voters

April 20, 2011 7:03 PM

Cambridgeshire Tories selected their new leader by a form of the Alternative Vote - but are adamant it is too complex and confusing for the average voter.

They are saying NO to electoral reform which would see MPs voted into their seats using the AV system in the future.

Despite their objections to AV, they decided it was the right way to go when selecting new leader, Nick Clarke.

With four candidates in the running, they gradually eliminated them one by one as they polled the fewest votes in the contest. With just two left standing, they chose Nick Clarke.

The system is, in essence, what would happen in a General Election under the AV system.

Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats Group Leader, Fiona Whelan said: "The Conservatives are showing how illogical their opposition to AV really is. They use it for choosing their own leaders at county and at national level but claim that it is too confusing and complex to be used in parliamentary elections. They insult the intelligence of voters.

"They make other outrageous claims such as that AV is much more expensive when the Treasury has confirmed that it would cost about the same as conventional general elections.

"It is a sign of their desperation to get a NO vote when David Cameron says 'he feels it in his gut that AV is wrong'. What kind of rationale is that?' He should stop trusting his 'gut' and have the guts to accept that we are living in the 21st century, not the 19th!"