Heyes: vote no on AV

Failsworth’s MP David Heyes is urging local people to say no to choosing a new system of voting.

The Ashton MP, whose constituency includes part of Oldham, says the Alternative Vote (AV) idea can leave Governments hamstrung and at risk of more coalitions.

He spoke ahead of the national AV vote on May 5, on the same day as Oldham’s council and parish council elections.

Mr Heyes said: “I have always been opposed to any form of proportional representation — including AV.

“I was a founder member of Labour’s NO to AV campaign and, together with more than 100 of my MP colleagues, in the last week my name has appeared in national press advertisements as a sponsor of the no campaign.

“I am a firm supporter of the first past the post system.

“People in Australia have had AV for a number of years and now they are campaigning to go back to the old system after it has produced a series of hamstrung coalition governments.

“Six out of 10 Australians want to go back to the tried and tested first past the post system.

“I don’t want to see us adopt a voting system which threatens permanent ‘Clegg’ style coalition government; which boosts the electoral influence of extremist parties; which will massively increase the cost of running elections for the taxpayer; and which has been adopted in only three other countries around the world — Australia, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.”

Mr Heyes’s stance differs from his Labour colleagues, Michael Meacher in Oldham West and Royton, and Debbie Abrahams in Oldham East and Saddleworth, who are both supporting AV.




A story in Friday’s Chronicle wrongly said Mr Heyes would vote Yes to AV .We apologise for the error.