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Tomorrow’s crunch vote on the Constitutional Renewal Bill will determine the course of electoral reform for years ahead.  

With Labour facing trouble within their own ranks over a referendum on AV, Conservatives facing a three line whip, Lib Dems tabling their own more progressive amendment for PR by the Single Transferable Vote, democracy organisations are pointing to the growing dividing lines between and within parties on the future of British democracy.

The vote comes as new polling has indicated half of Britons would support a referendum to change the electoral system [1]

The Electoral Reform Society’s Chief Executive Dr Ken Ritchie said :

“Tomorrow’s vote will reveal a dividing line between the old and new politics.

“Gordon Brown is prepared to take one small step for democracy with the Alternative Vote. With the Single Transferable Vote the Lib Dems are prepared to take one giant leap. Meanwhile the Conservatives seem content to march as one through the lobbies and endorse our defunct system which they hope will give them power.

“This vote will illustrate better than any before the divisions between and within parties. It will send a powerful signal to voters where their MPs interests lie - whether they value job security or old prejudices over the needs of their voters.

“We’re not too sure how Conservatives can reconcile their change agenda with a 3 line whip in defence of First-Past-the-Post. But we assume that Tories and Labour rebels will have the opportunity to explain their decision to voters at the coming election.”

Willie Sullivan from the Vote for a Change campaign, that has led the calls for a referendum said:

“Under our current system, a nation of 45 million voters will leave it to a quarter of a million in the marginals to decide the outcome of the next election. It’s the equivalent of letting only people who live in Brighton decide the government of the United Kingdom. The question of who runs Britain is all our business, and for that we need a vote that really counts.

“Polls have shown time and again that people are prepared to break with the past. [1] MPs can stick their fingers in their ears and pretend its business as usual, or they can help make 2010 the last broken election.”