The Green Party’s Darren Johnson, Labour’s Murad Qureshi and Liberal Democrat Mike Tuffrey criticised the Mayor for blasting the Alternative Vote system, a variant of which is used to elect the Mayor of London.

 London-wide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi said:

‘London uses a variant of the Alternative Vote to choose its Mayor. If AV is good enough to elect our Mayor then why not our MPs?’

Darren Johnson AM added:

‘The Mayor was elected using a system which gives voters a stronger voice in choosing their elected representatives. London has embraced this system- I urge Boris to think again.’

Liberal Democrat Mike Tuffrey AM said:

‘Voting Yes on May 5th will ensure that MPs will have to work harder in their communities and force them to appeal to a wider section of the electorate.’

Yes to Fairer Votes spokesperson Jonathan Bartley commented:

‘Surely the Mayor wouldn’t deny that having to appeal to more voters has made him work harder. Why doesn’t he want MPs to do the same?’

ENDS

Notes:

1. Under Britain’s current voting system: First Past the Post, if voters don’t believe their preferred candidate stands a real chance of winning, they are often forced to vote tactically.
2. The Alternative Vote, which will allow voters to rank candidates in order of our preference, means voters can choose their favourite candidate, knowing their vote can go further.
3. YES! to Fairer Votes is the campaign for a ‘Yes Vote’ in the coming referendum on introducing the Alternative Vote (AV) for elections to the House of Commons. Our staff and supporters come from all walks of life, from all parts of the United Kingdom, from all parties and none. We are ready to make the case for a fairer system that offers a better deal for voters.