The decision to schedule the planned referendum on AV for the same day next Spring as other elections are due has two primary arguments in its favour: turnout and cost.
The record of combining elections is that it increases turnout for the election type which traditionally has the lower turnout without depressing turnout for the other. Similarly, combining elections reduces costs as, for example, polling stations only have to be open for one day rather than two separate days.
The turnout factor is hard to estimate for a referendum/public elections combination but working out the likely costs is much easier and in a Parliamentary answer the Government has given its calculation:
We have made initial assumptions about the conduct costs of a referendum were it not to be combined with any other polls and on that basis we currently estimate a saving of £17 million on the conduct costs of the referendum through combination.
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8 Comments
So the referendum supported by Liberal Democrats will be held on the same day as the first election that will give the disillusioned Liberal supporters a chance to express their concerns about the coalition – and to vote against the Liberal Democrats. Looks like a major problem to me will be separating the election from the referendum so that people are prepared to vote against Libs in the election but support their proposals in the referendum – or is it even more of a set up by the anti-AV group which the pro-AV group have just agreed to it without thinking?
Of course disillusioned liberal democrats might just take the opportunity to vote for electoral change (because lib dems care a lot about this) whilst voting for whichever party they like.
As an independent – Mr Clegg – thank you for saving £17m through some common sense.
Of course, the referenda might actually increase turnout in Scotland and Wales, which I’m sure all nationalists would agree is a good thing 😉
Next May the Lib Dems will be about as popular as the black death, making their support for a ‘Yes’ vote in the referendum a real handicap.And I speak as someone with an open mind on AV.
I think the reaction of the Edinburgh audience to Michael Moore in a recent QT is a fair indication of how politically astute the Lib Dems are being in holding the referendum on the same day as the Scottish elections. Selling a voting system that benefits a party now widely seen as Thatcherite north of the border? I can’t help thinking Tories are taking the piss on this one.
I thought libdems did better when an election was low turnout? (I’m thinking local council elections in London)…
Err yes Ben, that was before they joined the Tories in government, that changes everything…no more protest vote against ‘the government’ going to the Lib Dems…in fact more likely to be a protest vote against the Lds.
I find it interesting how certain people are so desperate to believe that the Lib Dems are going to be unpopular. They want a Tory majority, I guess.
I can’t wait to see the Scottish Lib Dems tie themselves in knots trying to justify their support for one constitutional referendum vanity project born out of coalition with the Tories when they themselves refused to enter coalition with the SNP specifically because they opposed another constitutional referendum vanity project.
I doubt they’ll achieve Lisbon-treaty-referendum levels of cognitive dissonance, but it’ll be entertaining all the same.