Say YES! to the Alternative Vote on 5th May

On 5th May you have a choice. You can keep the discredited First Past the Post system to elect our MPs, or you can choose a new and fairer system – Alternative Vote (AV). Back the campaign for change at www.YesToFairerVotes.org

AV is a small change that makes a big difference.

Saying YES! to Fairer Votes Means:

MPs working harder to earn – and keep – our support. Your next MP would have to aim to get more than 50% of the vote to be sure of winning. At present they can be handed power with just one vote in three. They’ll need to work harder to win – and keep – your support.

A bigger say on who your local MP is. Ranking candidates gives you more say – in who comes first and who comes last. If your favourite doesn’t win, you can still have a say. It’s as easy as 1,2,3…

Tackling the ‘jobs for life’ culture. Too many MPs have their ‘safe seats’ for life. Force complacent politicians to sit up and listen, and reach out to the communities they seek to represent.

It could change politics here across Tameside. At the last General Election, of the three MPs in the area, only one had the support of a majority of voters.

AV keeps what works with our current system, and eliminates many of its weaknesses. It’s a long overdue upgrade to make a 19th century system fit for the politics of the 21st century. Our parliament will better represent our communities. MPs will have to have a better view of what your community thinks – and that’s because they will have to listen harder to your views. It’s simple. If someone wants to represent your community they need the votes of the majority of the community. That’s what making every vote count really means.

On May 5th: Vote YES

Warsi wildly inaccurate on voting reform

Responding to the article by Conservative Co-Chairman Baroness Warsi in the Sun today, Liberal Democrat peer Baroness (Kishwer) Falkner dismissed claims that the Fairer Votes referendum would help extremist parties.

Baroness Falkner said:“I’m shocked and frankly appalled by the distortions being spun today by Baroness Warsi and the ‘No’ campaign.

“Using the battle of Cable Street for her wildly inaccurate argument undermines the heroic and important action of that day, it ridicules the progress our society has made and will appeal only to the very people she says she wishes to stop.

“While the BNP agree with Baroness Warsi and are calling for a ‘No’ vote, the Muslim Council of Britain and Operation Black Vote have strongly come out in favour of reform because to truly stop extremist parties getting elected, we need to vote yes.

“Under AV, no one can get elected unless the majority of people support them which quite obviously makes it harder, not easier, for extremist parties. That’s exactly why the BNP are campaigning for a ‘No’ vote.

“The No-campaign has resorted to baseless scaremongering because they can’t make any positive case for the status quo. People won’t be fooled by this.”

Fairness – The Liberal Democrat Manifesto Launch

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg MP

Nick Clegg has launched the Liberal Democrat General Election manifesto. The manifesto sets out four clear priorities of fair taxes, a fair chance for every child, a fair economy, and a fair deal by cleaning up politics.

At the launch, Nick Clegg said:

“Every manifesto needs to have an idea at its heart. The basic idea that animates this manifesto is something I have always believed. I believe every single person is extraordinary.

“The tragedy is that we have a society where too many people never get to fulfil that extraordinary potential.

“My view – the liberal view – is that government’s job is to help them to do it. Not to tell people how to live their lives. But to make their choices possible, to release their potential, no matter who they are.

“The way to do that is to take power away from those who hoard it. To challenge vested interests. To break down privilege. To clear out the bottlenecks in our society that block opportunity and block progress. And so give everyone a chance to live the life they want.

“There’s a simple word for those ideas, and it’s a word this manifesto is built on: fairness.”

The Liberal Democrat manifesto outlines 4 steps to a fairer Britain:

Fair taxes that put money back in your pocket

The first £10,000 you earn tax-free: a tax cut of £700 for most people
3.6 million low earners and pensioners freed from income tax completely
Paid for in full by closing loopholes that unfairly benefit the wealthy and polluters

A fair future creating jobs by making Britain greener

Break up the banks and get them lending again to protect real businesses
Honesty about the tough choices needed to cut the deficit
Green growth and jobs that last by investing in infrastructure

A fair chance for every child

Ensure children get the individual attention they need by cutting class sizes
Made possible by investing £2.5 billion in schools targeted to help struggling pupils
Give schools the freedom to make the right choices for their pupils

A fair deal by cleaning up politics

Put trust back into politics by giving you the right to sack corrupt MPs
Restore and protect hard-won British civil liberties with a Freedom Bill
Overhaul Westminster completely: fair votes, an elected House of Lords, all politicians to pay full British taxes

You can download the Liberal Democrat manifesto at http://www.libdems.org.uk/our_manifesto.aspx along with summary documents and videos for each of the key areas, order a paper copy and find audio and easy read text versions.

Liberal Democrats will fight for fair votes

Commenting on BBC reports that the Government intends to put forward a referendum on the Alternative Vote for the House of Commons, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said: “If this is confirmed then it is a deathbed conversion to electoral reform from a party facing an historic defeat, which is why scepticism is warranted.

“The Alternative Vote is a small step in the right direction, but it is not a proportional system and it does not give voters real power over both the party and the person elected as MP.

“Only the Single Transferable Vote in multi-member seats would abolish MPs‘ meal tickets for life, and we will fight to amend this proposal to give people a real choice for a more significant change.”