Hmm. That's a nice, clear article, but it doesn't seem to address all the issues I can see.
My most major concern of all is perhaps somewhat cynical: politicians could pretend that AV had given voters fuller control over who represented them and therefore try to shift blame for mishaps onto the electorate. As things stand, both the public and other politicians seem to blame the politicians, with notable exceptions such as the Don't blame me I didn't Vote Boris merchandise which implicitly criticises other voters. If we had AV, how likely would complex excuses like "It's not our fault — 37% of the electorate placed XYZ party in first-, second- or third-preference position and their influence stopped us doing the right thing." become? If the electorate doesn't understand the nuances of the voting system, does it become easier to shift blame onto them?
Another concern is that it's currently simple to compare results between the polls in different seats of one general election, or between the same seat in consecutive general elections. AV obfuscates this. By some metric or another, practically anyone could claim their level of support had improved. This would be a fairly unattractive pissing contest even between the main parties, but what would the effect be when, say, the BNP claimed that 40% of the population had voted for them (…at any preference position)?
Moreover, even though we'd be no more likely to see extremist candidates winning, the share of first-preference votes enjoyed by the extremists would surely likely increase? AV makes extremist protest voting much easier.
Another issue is that we do have a high level of tactical voting in the UK. Though it might be argued that AV reduces the need for tactical voting, I didn't spot Dr Renwick providing any evidence that it would reduce the actual incidence. I'm not sure what the risks are of 20% of the population attempting to vote tactically under AV. And the consequences could then play into my first concern.
Also overlooked are appeals to more emotive concerns such as tradition on the one hand or being perceived as backward by the rest of the EU on the other.
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My most major concern of all is perhaps somewhat cynical: politicians could pretend that AV had given voters fuller control over who represented them and therefore try to shift blame for mishaps onto the electorate. As things stand, both the public and other politicians seem to blame the politicians, with notable exceptions such as the Don't blame me I didn't Vote Boris merchandise which implicitly criticises other voters. If we had AV, how likely would complex excuses like "It's not our fault — 37% of the electorate placed XYZ party in first-, second- or third-preference position and their influence stopped us doing the right thing." become? If the electorate doesn't understand the nuances of the voting system, does it become easier to shift blame onto them?
Another concern is that it's currently simple to compare results between the polls in different seats of one general election, or between the same seat in consecutive general elections. AV obfuscates this. By some metric or another, practically anyone could claim their level of support had improved. This would be a fairly unattractive pissing contest even between the main parties, but what would the effect be when, say, the BNP claimed that 40% of the population had voted for them (…at any preference position)?
Moreover, even though we'd be no more likely to see extremist candidates winning, the share of first-preference votes enjoyed by the extremists would surely likely increase? AV makes extremist protest voting much easier.
Another issue is that we do have a high level of tactical voting in the UK. Though it might be argued that AV reduces the need for tactical voting, I didn't spot Dr Renwick providing any evidence that it would reduce the actual incidence. I'm not sure what the risks are of 20% of the population attempting to vote tactically under AV. And the consequences could then play into my first concern.
Also overlooked are appeals to more emotive concerns such as tradition on the one hand or being perceived as backward by the rest of the EU on the other.