Tag Archives: analysis

James King

Opinion: 5 reasons the AV referendum lost

By James King | Fri 13th May 2011 - 10:30 am

Here is my take on the five main reasons why the UK gave such a comprehensive thumbs down to AV, with one important lesson for the future:

  1. Tuition fees and trust – This is not the place to rehearse all the arguments on tuition fees. But there can be no denying that it was a significant turning point in public perceptions of Nick Clegg. Even though over 300 Tory MPs voted for higher fees, the Conservative-dominated No campaign ruthlessly exploited this as an argument against coalitions in general and Clegg in particular. While I believe the policy itself can be justified, Clegg clearly under-estimated the political cost of a U-turn, particularly in the context ofacritical referendum that needed to be won only a few months later.
Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 46 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Alex Macfie
    I don't understand why Ed decided to jump on the banknote bandwagon, when the overlap between the people who are bothered about that sort of thing and those who...
  • Dennis Delice
    I love this parallel you've made; I couldn't help but think the same. Rather than responding to shots being taken in a defensive mentality, we are are strugglin...
  • paul barker
    There is one obvious trend that looks unstoppable, The Decline of Reform. That is unalloyed Good News but it does have the side effects of A Conservative Recove...
  • Dennis Delice
    You are right that rejoining the EU could be a key differentiator, but incremental single market/customs union re-entry are more achievable near-term than full ...
  • Simon Costain
    If AI is the sum of all human knowledge, then those private sectors entities that make use of it should pay a usage fee - personally I'd direct the proceeds tow...