Brown defers question of AV electoral system for councils

February 2, 2010

Prime Minister Gordon Brown was quizzed about the consequences for local government of his ‘Alternative Vote’ proposals for Westminster elections as his speech to the ippr this morning (2nd February).

In response to questioning from NLGN Director Chris Leslie, the Prime Minister said that while he could “see the relevance” of this for local government and local councillors, he noted that “there are many different electoral systems operating for different elections” and that today he intended to “focus on the question of Parliamentary elections” and did not want to cloud the issue beyond the system of election to the Commons for the time being.

Commenting on the Prime Minister’s speech, Mr Leslie said:


“Gordon Brown’s restatement of the importance of decentralisation from the centre was a welcome section in this keynote constitutional speech, reiterating as he did the Government’s approach to localism and local public service reform.

“It is essential that the local dimension is not neglected in the grand debates about constitutional reform – and if there is merit for a shift to a ‘preference based’ electoral system rather than first-past-the-post at Westminster elections, then it is equally legitimate to explore the impact it might have on local democracy too.

“There are advantages and disadvantages to moving towards an ‘Alternative Vote’ model at local elections. Many commentators have argued that more proportional representation is needed to avoid some authorities becoming ‘all party states’. The AV model has the advantage of ensuring those elected have a majority mandate and retain a constituency and ward connection. However, there are others who feel that this is an issue of marginal importance and that there are bigger reform questions to be addressed for local government in constitutional terms, for instance, reforming executive leadership and the Mayoral model; improving scrutiny powers; and extending the democratic mandate across a wider array of local services.

“The key issue should be simplicity and clarity for the electorate. If the electoral system is to change for Westminster, then there should be a simultaneous look at a parallel shift for local elections, otherwise there could be considerable confusion among voters especially if asked to ballot on the same day for local and national elections. The experience in Scotland of a considerably high volume of spoilt ballot papers where European, MSP and local systems differ greatly suggests that a consistent approach across our constitution would make most sense.”


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