Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg MP responded to the news of the clear “no” vote in the referendum on changing the voting system to AV:

“When you have such a overwhelmingly clear answer you just have to accept it and move on.

“This is a bitter blow for all those people who believe in the need for political reform, but the answer is clear and the wider job of the government, and the Liberal Democrats in government will continue, to repair the economy, to restore prosperity and jobs and a sense of optimism in the country.

“That is the job we started and we will see it though. We will dust ourselves off and move on.”