Green Party London Assembly Members Darren Johnson and Jenny Jones have today issued this cross-party call for a Yes vote in the forthcoming referendum:
As London Assembly Members from every group we have come together to urge Londoners to vote Yes in the referendum to change the voting system. On May 5th you will have the opportunity to replace the outdated way we elect our MPs with a new and fairer system which would give the public a greater voice- the Alternative Vote (AV).
This would mean, rather than putting an "X" on your ballot paper, you could number the candidates in order of preference. Under this system, even if your favourite candidate was unable to win you could still have a say in who becomes your MP.
Under AV MPs will need to secure at least 50% of the vote to be certain of winning. This will mean that they’ll have to work harder to keep your support. A fairer voting system will force MPs to sit up and listen, reaching out to the communities they seek to represent
AV is not complicated. In fact, Londoners use a very similar system to elect the Mayor of London. London is one of the few places without local elections in May so turn out could be low. Londoners must not let this decision be made for them. We urge you to vote Yes to fairer votes on May 5th.
John Biggs AM (Labour)
Andrew Boff AM (Conservative)
Dee Doocey (Liberal Democrat)
Len Duval AM (Leader, Labour Group)
Nicky Gavron (Labour)
Darren Johnson AM (Green)
Jenny Jones AM (Green)
Caroline Pidgeon AM (Liberal Democrat)
Murad Qureshi (Labour)
Val Shawcross (Labour)
Mike Tuffrey (Leader, Liberal Democrat Group