Yesterday the House of Lords passed an amendment by four votes changing the legislation for a referendum on AV so that rather than the referendum having to be 5 May 2011 it would have to be held at some point before 31 October 2011.
The amendment does not require a date other than 5 May to be used, but it is likely to be overturned in the Commons – especially as the Electoral Commission has expressed its worries over the implications of the amendment. Today it issued a statement, “setting out its concerns about the implications of the amendment”. These are based on it having consistently called for there to be certainty over the date as soon as possible so that the administration of the referendum can be more easily planned and executed.
Details of who voted which way are available here.
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8 Comments
Aye no respect for Scotland or Wales… None at all
It’s nothing to do with “respect” for Scotland or Wales.
The idea that the British people (English, Welsh, Scottish, etc) cant think about a YES/NO answer to more than one question on the same day is utterly insulting to the intelligence of the voters.
It’s not a question of people not being able to cope, it’s a question of the Welsh and Scottish elections being drowned out in the myopic ‘national’ (read: English) media by the infinitely less important AV debate, and the distorting effect this will inevitably have. It’s disgracefully disrespectful to the Scottish and Welsh parliaments to hold the referendum on the same day.
@Tris
You seem to be forgetting that it’s also the same day as council elections in England. The date doesn’t ignore or disrespect any nation in particular.
@Tris and iainm: Since when did the London media ever cover Welsh and Scottish politics properly? Surely voters there have always had to rely on local media, as indeed have all voters in local elections outside London?
So while we have been tearing ourselves apart to support the Conservatives’ privatisation agenda for universities, 3 Tory peers and lots of abstainers have gaily conspired with Labour to defeat the Government and potentially derail the AV referendum:
http://conservativehome.blogs.com/parliament/2010/12/peers-defeat-government-to-pass-amendment-which-could-delay-the-av-referendum-until-next-autumn.html
The change from a specific date of 5 May to any date before 31 October seems innocuous but it opens the way for further arguments about the date and last minute judicial review applications to sabotage the AV vote next year.
Government sources may say they are confident the defeat can be reversed in the Commons, but this leaves the Lib Dems dependent on continuing Tory goodwill, and exposes the Bill to possible further delay as the two Houses play pingpong.
At one level, this exposes the No campaign’s tactics and its preference for letting judges rather than voters decide. That is what FPTP is all about: denying voters a proper choice.
But it must also make Lib Dem MPs ask themselves why they are being asked to break their pledges to constituents on tuition fees, and embrace possible political oblivion, if voters get nothing in return.
Shouldn’t we insist the tuition fees vote is delayed until after the Referendum Bill has passed? If that means deferring the grossly disproportionate funding cuts and fees increase by a year until we have had a proper discussion on the still unpublished Government’s university funding White Paper, all the better.
@George. Elections to the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly are just a little bit more important than elections to English councils. Attempting to equivocate the two does suggest that you do not see the two devolved governments as important (because, let’s be frank, English councils are not the most powerful bodies in the world) and is very disrespectful. Which kind of proves the point of the Welsh and Scottish governments, I think.
@Paul Kennedy who stated: ‘Shouldn’t we insist the tuition fees vote is delayed until after the Referendum Bill has passed? If that means deferring the grossly disproportionate funding cuts and fees increase by a year until we have had a proper discussion on the still unpublished Government’s university funding White Paper, all the better.’
Ah so let’s just use the unis and students as a political football so the LibDems can have their AV election when they decide in an attempt to prevent a pitiful tournout by voters.
And btw I don’t think students and voters will view getting an AV referendum on a specific date as suitable payment for the tuition fee betrayal.