The Right Alternative? Assessing the case for the Alternative Vote
Article
AV is a superior voting system to FPTP principally because it goes with the grain of contemporary political life in Britain: it is better at reflecting the diversity and pluralism of the modern electorate, something FPTP conspicuously fails to do.
The upcoming referendum offers voters the choice between moving to the Alternative Vote (AV) or retaining First Past the Post (FPTP). The evidence presented in this report and IPPR's previous publication - Worst of Both Worlds: Why First Past the Post no longer works - shows that there is a strong case for reform.
However, there is no such thing as a perfect electoral system and we should be careful not to exaggerate the claims of AV. It is not a proportional system and so does not give all parties a fair share of seats in parliament.
Download the full results of the ippr/YouGov poll which is used extensively in this report.
Related items
A people-focussed future for transport in England
Our findings from three roundtables on the impact of transport in people’s lives and the priorities for change.Progressive renewal: The Global Progress Action Summit
A quarter of the way through this century, change is in the air. Everyone, everywhere, seemingly all at once, wants out of the status quo.Insurgent government: How mainstream parties can fight off populism and rebuild trust in politics
Across the western world it feels like a sea change is occurring in our politics. At the heart of this is a simple fact: large numbers of people increasingly feel that mainstream politics is failing to deliver for them.