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Tag Archives: Lies
#No2AV Lie of the Week: Part 6
No to AV are claiming the move to AV would cost the taxpayer £250 million. Their figures break down as follows:
- £82 million for the cost of the referendum itself
- £9 million on voter education
- £130 million on electronic counting machines
- £26 million on further voter education should the referendum pass
Ignoring for a moment (again) how that doesn’t actually add up to £250 million, hopefully you’ve spotted by now that the first £91 million of that won’t actually be saved by voting no. No campaign spokesman Dan Hodges admitted as much to Next Left. It also doesn’t take account of the £17 million the government says will be saved by holding the referendum on the same day as other elections.
So what about the remaining £156 million No to AV claim actually could be saved? Maybe we should consider that. Oh no, wait. We already did. If you ever meet any No advocates, and they tell you that AV requires costly counting machines, you might like to ask them how the Australians managed in 1918! The Electoral Commission have said that they are looking at modernising the voting system, but the result of the AV referendum has not been a factor in their considerations. In fact, the notorious problems with voting machines in the US relate to first past the post elections.
So the only cost remaining is the somewhat mysterious figure of £26 million on voter education
. The £9 million figure from before the referendum seems to be derived from that quoted in parliament as Electoral Commission expenses. The Electoral Commission provides material explaining the electoral process before every election, so it’s unclear why No 2 AV think it would be an additional charge.
In short, No to AV’s claims are a flat out lie. Even the rabidly traditionalist Daily Telegraph admits it. I sincerely hope the electorate will see through the attempts to confuse, and instead vote on the issue: whether or not AV is an improvement on FPTP. Of course, it might be that No to AV would rather just no bother with elections at all. It would, after all, be cheaper.
Posted in Politics
Tagged Australia, AV, Electoral Reform, Lie of the Week, Lies, No to AV, Politics, Referendum, £250 Million
2 Comments
Just because Nick Clegg said it doesn’t mean it’s true
I’ve covered the myth of the miserable little compromise in detail before but, in short, they’re saying we shouldn’t vote for it because Nick Clegg doesn’t like it? Have they forgotten who Nick Clegg is?
Posted in Politics
Tagged AV, Lie of the Week, Lies, Miserable little compromise, Nick Clegg, No to AV, Politics, Referendum
8 Comments
#No2AV Lie of the Week: Part 4
Another week, another bizarre lie from No to AV. This week, they’re further exposing their incoherent and inconsistent message. After last week’s near-truth, this week’s is highly subjective. It almost feels as though they’re doing this specifically to challenge me. AV
, they claim, is the wrong referendum at the wrong time
.
OK, so, starting with the blindingly obvious, that doesn’t tell us anything at all about which way we should vote.
Posted in Politics
Tagged AMS, AV, Electoral Reform, Lie of the Week, Lies, No to, Politics, Referendum, STV
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#No2AV Lie of the Week: Part 3
Wow. No to AV came so close to stating an actual true fact this week. It only would have taken a few more words. Sadly for them, lies are what result when you run a campaign based on soundbites over substance. So on with the series!
Posted in Politics
Tagged AV, Electoral Reform, Lie of the Week, Lies, No to AV, Politics, Referendum
3 Comments
Electoral Commission Confirms: No to AV Lying
Mark Nyack of the Electoral Commission responded to my letter about No to AV’s claim that adopting the Alternative Vote would require expensive electronic counting machines: We are in favour of electoral modernisation and have recommended to government that new … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
Tagged AV, Electoral Commission, Electoral Reform, Electronic Voting, Lies, No to AV, Politics, Referendum
3 Comments
#No2AV Lie of the Week: Part 2
Given the campaign they’re running, it would be difficult for No to AV to come up with a more ironic slogan than this week’s we don’t want two votes, we want politicians who aren’t two faced.
There are actually two lies here: firstly, that AV gives anyone two votes. Secondly, that FPTP is the best way to keep politicians from lying. We’ll take them one at a time.
Posted in Politics
Tagged AV, Electoral Reform, FPTP, Lie of the Week, Lies, No to AV, Politics, Referendum, STV
17 Comments
Could the Electoral Commission clarify…?
Dear Sir or Madam, I notice that No to AV are claiming that, should the alternative vote be implemented following the forthcoming referendum, expensive counting machines would be required to count elections. Having previously volunteered to count AV elections at … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
Tagged AV, Electoral Commission, Electoral Reform, Lies, No to AV, Politics, Referendum
1 Comment
#No2AV Lie of the Week: Part 1
In the top right hand corner of No to AV’s new web site is a box headed weekly reason to vote no
. If the tactics of the no campaign so far are anything to go on, there’s no reason to expect that a single one of them will be true. And thus begins a new weekly series here.
This week’s reason
is the Lib Dems would always be a part of a coalition government.
It’s simply not supported by the facts. There is no reason to expect that coalitions would be any more or less likely under AV than they are under the current First Past the Post system. Australia, which uses AV has had two coalitions in the last hundred years, compared to the five we’ve had here. Canada, which uses FPTP, has had eleven.
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