Shock Yes win in AV referendum as No voters struggle with “complex” doorhandles, push/pull signs in polling stations.

Despite numerous polls to the contrary, the proposal to adopt the Alternative Vote was narrowly carried in Britain today after it emerged that No voters, convinced that the preferential voting system that involves being able to count was too complex, failed to successfully negotiate their entry into the polling stations to cast their ballots. The No campaign was quick to condemn the result, and demanded a second referendum.

“It’s a disgrace” a spokesperson for No2AV said, “Ordinary voters have been deliberately bamboozled by having fiendishly complex so-called “handles” to operate to gain access into the polling stations. How can ordinary working people be expected to understand that if a sign on a door says “Pull” that they shouldn’t push the door? In fact, what is the government doing spending taxpayers hard earned money on fancy luxuries like polling station doors when it could be spending the money on flak jackets for our brave boys in Afghanistan? I blame Nick Clegg”.

 

PANA’s latest press statement. Bless.

“The People’s Movement is organising a demonstration outside Dail Eireann on Monday 9/5/2011 from 12.30-2.30pm to protest against the government’s EUROPE DAY. PANA is calling on all its supporters to take part.
Roger Cole, Chair of PANA said:
“Since 1996 PANA has campaigned against the gradual destruction of Irish Independence, Democracy and Neutrality and our integration into an EU which is being transformed treaty after treaty into a centralised, militarised, neo-liberal superstate. Its support for the NATO war on Libya, including the attempted murder of its Leader and the killing of one of his sons and several of his grandchildren, is only the latest example of the kind of military future the EU has planned. The EU apart from justifying murder, has ensured that the ordinary people of this country are to suffer massive and continuing cuts in their living standards in order to bail out the EU bankers. What is the response of the Irish elite? It organises a EUROPE DAY. What planet do these people live on?”

This is just great stuff. First up, the word PANA are looking for here is “Earth”, a planet they are no doubt familiar with from their many visits.

Secondly, why does leader get a capital L? Is it an L. Ron Hubbard type of thing? 

Here’s a thought: Hands up which of the following people don’t actually get chosen by their own people in free elections: Nicolas Sarkozy, Barack Obama, David Cameron, Muammar Gaddaffi. Free airstrike for the winner.

AV: A No vote would be Britain’s George W. Bush moment.

Remember that moment in 2004 when it became apparent that George W. Bush was going to defeat John Kerry and be re-elected President? Remember that “What The **** Are They Thinking?” moment? That’ll be how I feel if Britain votes to keep First Past The Post. Not anger, because it is not, after all, my country, and referendums have a tendency to throw up answers you don’t like. But just jaw-dropping mouth open disbelief.

See, AV isn’t perfect. I get that. But it is better than First Past The Post. But that’s not even the bit that would annoy me, because FPTP has its strengths and I accept that some people put more importance on some aspects of a voting system than others. Fair enough.

No, what would make me gnash my teeth will be if people vote No because of the ridiculous reasons put forward by some on the No side. The voting machines, the “complexity”, the “extra” votes for small parties, all that nonsense. If the British people vote No to AV because of that stuff, stuff that deep down No people in Labour and the Conservatives, who use forms of AV internally in their respective parties, know to be just plain untrue, well, that would be nothing short of heart-breaking.

A No vote is where the British people are convinced by professional politicians to vote against themselves. AV gives individual voters more power over politicians. FPTP restricts those same voters. 

It really is as simple as that.