A SENIOR Warrington councillor says he is “horrified by some of the nonsense coming out of the ‘No’ campaign” on the referendum on AV.
Leader of Warrington Council Cllr Ian Marks (Lib Dem) welcomed Tim Farron MP, the national president of his party, to Warrington when he visited the local party’s Alternative Vote (AV) HQ.
The MP said: “For the first time in our lifetimes, genuine electoral reform is within our grasp but if we don’t win, then it could be the last time in our lifetimes.
“The Fairer Votes referendum is our big chance to ensure that decisions about the future of our country are made by politicians who have earned their votes and proved themselves worthy of their position by being elected by over 50 per cent of voters.”
Cllr Marks said: “We must show everyone that a vote for AV is a vote for a fairer way of doing politics. A vote against business as usual in Westminster. A small change that will make a big difference.”
He said the AV referendum was nothing to do with which party people vote for, but for how they vote.
“I have been horrified by some of the nonsense coming out of the ‘No’ campaign. They claim it is complicated but this is an insult to people’s intelligence,” he said.
“They say it will let in parties like the BNP – exactly the opposite is the case because it makes it less likely that such parties will be elected. They say it will cost more money but this is totally untrue unless you count the cost of a few more pencils for making more marks on ballot papers,” he added.
Pictured are local party chairman Ann Raymond, Cllr Roy Smith, Tim Farron and Cllr Ian Marks.
No campaign is utter nonsense
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Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
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Quote:
“Cllr Marks said: “We must show everyone that a vote for AV is a vote for a fairer way of doing politics.”
What a load of rubbish,
It is a sad day indeed when, the losers of this world (Lib-Dems), cannot convince the population that they are good enough to look after the needs of the country.
HOW can the one who gets the most votes, not be the winner and how can that not be the fairest way?
How much is all this nonsense costing? We could have used the money to keep the libraries open.
The people who get the most votes are often those who vote against an MP – how are they represented? Why are the Conservatives and their press baron backers so scared of this new fairer system of voting?
It’s because they know that they would lose power and the voters would get more. First Past the Post is no longer fit for purpose, we need AV now we don’t have two party politics.
As will be shown by the turnout, it is mainly the political obsessives who care about this matter. If AV does come in to being, I think most people will still just vote for one candidate, if they bother voting at all. Haven’t many people given up on politics and politicians.
The whole point of AV, if it is to work properly, would be for everyone to fully understand and use their votes properly, i.e. in order of preference. If they still only vote for one person, then there is even more chance of a small party being elected by default. One vote per person is still the most understandable and practicable option.
Surely it can not be right if, with AV, a vote for a main party only gets one vote, but other minority party votes are counted again and again. In extreme circumstances, the person who comes EIGHTH could win. Whatever happened to one person, one vote”
Cllr Marks accuses politicians of saying things that are totally untrue and says that he is ‘horrified’!!! Haven’t a lot of people in Warrington been horrified about things he himself has said and done since being elected.
He talks of “……….politicians who have earned their votes and proved themselves worthy of their position by being elected by over 50 per cent of voters.” In the real world politicians get elected on the appeal of their promises, they become worthy of their position only when they honour those promises and fulfill their duties in an honourable way. Cllr Marks would be insulting the intelligence of the people of Warrington if he thinks they have not the mental capacity to remember how he and his Executive Board members have dealt with issues such as Stockton Heath and Longbarn Primary schools, Woolston High, Bewsey Old Hall, Walton Gardens, Connexions, the Youth Cafe…etc. etc. etc. “A small change that will make a big difference.” might be his empty seat in the Town Hall?