What do you think of AV?

I have no opinion on the politics of AV. What you're describing, though, sounds like the single transferable vote (STV) system that is employed in Australia and Ireland, and which is currently used in UK elections for the European parliament. I think STV is a good idea -- the US should adopt it too.

Thanks Jo, and least someones posted. AV is the same as the single transferrable vote, but we don't use it in the European elections. Those are based on PR. I know because I voted in them a few years back and we were told to put an X next to just one candidate.

Thanks for the correction. I misread the Wikipedia entry, which shows that STV is only used in Northern Ireland for European elections, not in the UK as a whole.

I've just got a no to AV leaflet through the door. According to them it's just Australia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea that have AV. It was used in Northern Ireland for quite some time to keep the extremists out during the troubles.

Well today's the day we all go out and vote in the first referendum since 1975. It's not looking good for the Yes camp. Most people want to punish the liberals for their broken promises, and abandonment of progressive politics. It's really ironic, most people would probably want AV, but not if that rewards Nick Clegg. The nearbyEastleigh Liberal MP and energy minister Chris Huhne threw a tantrum in a cabinet minister. He needs AV if he wants to be re-elected next time. Last time he only got in because Labour voters voted tactically to keep the conservatives out. They won't next time.

Well it's no to AV, but it's really no to the Liberal Democrats. They were the party with most to gain, and not only have they lost the referendum, they've also lost loads of council seats.

That's interesting, the conjunction of probable anti clegg sentiment and the potential of a.v. voting, at the same time.

I don't know what I think re a.v. yet, have to hear more pros and cons. I might well like it. My background is that I'm a california woman with years of political engagement (or non engagement at any given time) behind me. I don't happen to live in california now, but I formed a lot of my political thinking there.

In the UK we only vote on who will be representing the council or our member of parliament. We don't vote on propositions like you do. The last time we had ab referendum was in 1975. My daughter who is 18 voted for the first time today, but it was the first time either of us had voted in a referendum.

The AV vote as a piece of constitutional legislation should be looked at objectively, but the politics of it all just got in the way. There are three main political parties in the UK, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative, but only two that have any chance of governing Labour and Conservative. Since Margaret Thatcher's term in office the Liberal Democrats have been viewed as the opposition to Conservative along with the main opposition Labour.

For Government we only vote for the legislative, and the political parties decide who the leaders are. In American terms it would be as if the Speaker of the House had all the powers of the president. When Tony Blair got in on a landslide, those constituencies where the liberals were in opposition to the Conservatives found that Labour supporters tactically voted Liberal Democrat to keep the Conservatives out.

During Labour's 13 years in office the Liberals positioned themselves even more left of centre, opposing the war in Iraq, and any form of tuition fees for students. In the last election the Liberals courted the student vote by signing a solemn pledge to oppose student fees. The last election resulted in a hung parliament. The Liberals went into coalition with the Conservatives, tripled student fees, and signed up to an austerity package and aseries of cuts more right wing than Thatcher. The price for all of this was the AV referendum.

People felt betrayed, the main beneficiaries of AV would be the Liberals. The Conservatives were against it anyway. So even though I am a Labour supporter, who intellectually supports AV I voted against it because I couldn't bear the thought of the Liberals being rewarded for basically lying to the electorate.

digesting this, yet again - I'm thick - thanks.

No you're not, you read the Guardian.

But I don't always get it. I'm working it.
I reserve right to be confused.

Don't beat yourself up about it. Not many people know the ins and outs of another country's political systems. The main thing to do is not make assumptions, and keep an open mind, you seem to be doing that Ok. You can ask me to try and explain anything about our politics/constitution that confuses you.