Peers in the House of Lords have achieved a little victory over the Government adopting an amendment that could see the proposed referendum on whether to adopt the AV voting system postponed until the autumn.Under the coalition's plans, the public will decide on 5 May 2011 whether to adopt the alternative vote (AV) system in General Elections, or stick to the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system, but an amendment proposed by Labour peer Lord Rooker to allow the referendum to take place on any day before October 31st 2011 was adopted by a very slim majority of just four votes on Monday.
Speaking as the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill passes before them, Lord Rooker argued that the referendum could still be held on 5th May but his plan gave the government a "lifeboat" in case it was not possible to arrange it in time.
In response, the leader of the Lords, Lord Strathclyde, rose to affirm that the Government was committed to the May date as it would save money by being on the same day as local elections in large parts of the UK. “We decided on 5th May because it is the best date. It is when 84 per cent of the population will already be going to the polls […] it will save us a great deal of money-something like £30 million-if we go ahead on the day that we have decided,” he said.
But concerns had been voiced that holding such an important referendum at the same time as council elections may ‘confuse’ voters and delaying the vote could indeed allow both the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ campaigns more time to get their respective messages across.
Considering the importance at stake, it should be held on a separate day despite the added expense, but ultimately it will be the Government who has the final say.
