The defeated Conservative election candidate for Brighton Pavilion has become a key figure in the campaign against the coalition’s voting reform plans.
Charlotte Vere, who polled third in the general election in May in the seat won by Green Caroline Lucas, has taken up a new role as national organiser of the No Campaign for the AV Referendum.
The group is fighting proposals by the coalition Government to introduce AV (Alternative Vote) as the national electoral system but the move has been opposed by many Conservatives who want to stick to the existing first-past-the-post method. Labour MPs have said they will not support the change either because it has been linked with plans to change the current election constituencies.
Not true that Labour are opposed to changing the electoral system to AV – it was in their last manifesto and Ed Miliband is in favour. They just wouldn’t vote for the bill to introduce it, because it was bundled up with proposals to strictly equalise constituencies without regard to local factors.
I hope Ms Vere has as much luck defending the corrupt existing electoral system as she did in her campaign to win Brighton Pavilion.