David Cameron has told an audience in Surrey that the Alternative Vote would hand unfair influence to "Scottish Socialist" voters.
In a campaign speech in Woking this afternoon ahead of the May 5 referendum on the electoral system, the prime minister said Winston Churchill's opposition to AV informed his position.
Quoting Britain's wartime leader, he said AV meant elections would be "determined by the most worthless votes given for the most worthless candidates."
"AV is wrong for Britain. It’s wrong that candidates who come third can win elections," Cameron said.
"It’s wrong that the fifth choice of some Scottish Socialist voter can count as much as your first choice."
"It’s wrong that it lets lame-duck politicians cling on to power when the country doesn’t want them. Wrong, wrong, wrong."
He added: "First Past the Post is a system that has served our democracy for centuries, that is used by almost half the electors on the planet, and that, yes – is simple, clear and decisive."
Cameron's speech came as the 'No' campaign accused the Institute of Public Policy Research of commissioning a "push poll" which led those taking part to adopt a pro-AV position.
Matthew Elliott, the campaign's director, said the results of the survey conducted by YouGov which suggested the 'Yes' campaign had a 12 point lead were "completely bogus"
He said: "Although the IPPR have not released the full details of their push poll, it is now clear that these results are completely bogus and should be taken with a very large pinch of salt.
"It is a sign of desperation from the Yes to AV campaign and their supporters that they need to stoop to such unseemly tactics."
In response, Nick Pearce, the ippr's director, said the 'No' campaign were shooting the messenger.
"As our press release makes clear, we are explicit that this is the first national poll that asks the referendum question after asking participants a number of detailed questions about their understanding of the way AV works and after asking them to take part in a 'mock AV ballot'," he said.
"It shows that the more people learn about AV, the more they support change. Campaigners on both sides have everything to play for between now and May 5th."
Article Comments
Utterly worthless and unnecessary comment from a useless politican giving unworthy publicity to a treacherous bunch of no-hopers.
Fancy the Tory PM former employer of phonetapper Andy Coulson of News of the World - giving those scumbags who cooperated with them on the Sheridan libel case a shot of free publicity? Publicity which they don't deserve and would not have got from the Scottish public who give them short shrift and a very wide berth indeed on the streets of Glasgow.
Graham Campbell
18th Apr 2011 at 4:18 pm
Having used FPP system for centuries, our country is bankrupt, our utility companies are foreign owned, we are governed from Brussels by faceless bureaucrats, there are no jobs for millions of would-be workers and school leavers, the education system is a joke as is our justice system. However Cameron and his socialist allies want to carry on with the system that gave us this shambles. NOT ON YOUR LIFE!
Rosie Lloyd
14th Apr 2011 at 8:23 pm
Coming from the leader of a party which is supposed to be a Unionist party Cameron;s inflammatory remark about Scottish Socialists is disgusting.
I bet he wouldn't have said it if he'd been addressing an audience in Scotland.
As for him praying Churchill in aid, in fact in his 1931 speech Churchill was condemning precisely the method which is now used to elect the Mayor of London, but I don't hear Cameron complaining that Boris Johnson lacks democratic legitimacy.
Here's something else that Churchill said in that speech, which seems a very strange notion nowadays:
http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1931/jun/02/representation-of-the-people-no-2-bill
“In the old days before the War, a General Election was spread over five or six weeks, and a far more closely reasoned decision was reached than is reached at present. I was never an admirer of all elections on one day.”
So maybe we shouldn't assume that Churchill was a great constitutional expert whose ideas can still be a useful guide for us eighty years on.
Denis Cooper
14th Apr 2011 at 7:39 pm
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