On Thursday 28th April local MP Mark Pawsey spoke at a debate held at St Andrew’s Church, Rugby to consider the referendum on the Alternative Vote due to take place this coming Thursday 5th May.
Mark spoke on behalf of the NO2AV campaign, which he is fronting in the area and which opposes the move to the Alternative Vote system, with Richard Robinson speaking for the Yes campaign.
After brief introductory speeches outlining the key arguments for each side of the debate members of the public were able to quiz the representatives on the issues at hand.
Mark said:
“I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and I believe it was a very worthwhile event. It was well attended and I think that demonstrates a good level of public interest on the matter. I was pleased to be able to put the case for a No vote which includes the cost of the referendum and introducing the AV system of £250 million which I believe at the current time is a complete waste of money.”
Mark added:
“The AV system is only used in 3 countries in the world and my experience is the more people hear about it, the more they are against it. Furthermore, as a member of the public at the debate pointed out, the case for AV has not been made. I agree that the present system is not perfect but I do not believe that AV is the way to do it. The argument to move to an AV system is simply not convincing.”
Mark concluded:
“My hope is that all the people who attended the debate left it with a greater understanding of the key issues and I would encourage everyone to look into the issue of electoral reform and cast an informed vote against the AV system on May 5th.”