Matthew's Journal

and their influence stopped us doing the right thing

What would that influence be? I mean, if we still have a majority Government, that Government has the power to get things done, without being able to blame anyone else, surely?

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.

Even though this information would worry me, I'm not sure why we're better off if the information is hidden. If X % of the population would prefer the BNP first, we might as well know it. (We both agree that this won't lead to an increase in seats, so that's okay.)

Regarding tactical voting - given that most people seem completely unaware that tactical voting is possible under AV; and even out of those of us who do know, many would be unwilling to gamble the risk of getting it wrong, I'd be surprised if the number of tactical votes was anywhere remotely near 20%.