Yes or No?

The first UK wide referendum in 35 years will take place tomorrow to decide whether to change the way British people elect MPs.

The current voting system ‘First Past the Post’ (FPTP), according to which people put one ‘X’ for their favourite candidate and the person with the most votes wins, could be scrapped for the ‘Alternative Vote’ (AV) system.

Under AV, which is a more complex system, voters can nominate 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th preferences so that if their favourite candidate is eliminated, they can still have a say until one candidate gets more than 50 per cent of the votes. The order in which candidates are eliminated is vital to determining the final result.

People who will vote ‘Yes’ to change to the Alternative Vote want to give more voice to their political representatives and step away from a system designed for two-party politics only.

Two thirds of current MPs, many with jobs for life, were elected with less than half of the vote; that means today most people are represented by MPs most citizens didn’t vote for.

On the other side, the ‘First Past the Post’ system, which is the most widely used in the world, is also clear and simple; produces strong governments and allows voters to kick out parties they have had enough of.

The referendum is taking place because the Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, demanded it during the coalition negotiations last year. And the Lib Dem are also the only major party united behind a ‘Yes’ vote.

The majority of Labour MPs, in fact, are backing a ‘No’ vote and PM David Cameron and the Conservatives want to keep the existing system too.

Some MPs fear the Coalition may now struggle to last the full five-year agreement, as bitter divisions emerged within the referendum campaign.

Whatever the outcome however, this is a once-in-a-generation chance to do politics differently and the Alternative Vote could be a very British revolution, as the result of this referendum is permanent.

In addition to the UK-wide referendum on the voting system many areas in England have local authority elections on May 5.

Polls will be opened all day tomorrow between 7am and 10pm.