VOTE NO TO AV

The Communist Party is backing a No vote in the referendum on the Alternative Voting system to be held tomorrow, 5th May. The Communist Party will Support a No vote on the grounds that:

(i) AV is intended to shore up a system of increasingly limited democracy which assists right-wing parties;

(ii) AV would apply only to Westminster elections, introducing yet more complexity into our electoral democracy;

(iii) we cannot stand aside or support a Yes vote while major progressive labour movement organisations have taken a firm position to vote No;

(iv) the ConDem government is in a shaky position and the vote can be turned into a referendum on its policies;

(v) the democratic deficit can only really be resolved by STV in multi-member constituencies, which we should argue for during the campaign; and

(vi) the critical issue is not the electoral system but the degree to which a mass movement can be developed to demand progressive policies.