A Royal Wedding and a referendum

The eyes of the world will tomorrow be glued to the TV to see footage of Kate Middleton walking down the aisle of Westminster Abbey, lined by dignitaries, to wed Prince William.

This is certainly the wedding of the decade. Royal weddings are always a big occasion but when the future king ties the knot the occasion is grand.

Amid tight security, thousands of Britons will be flocking onto the streets of central London to catch a glimpse of the bride and groom as they make their way to the abbey. Hundreds of thousands will be celebrating the event at the street parties being organised across the country. This is indeed a historic moment for Britain and its royal family.

Among the distinguished guests attending the wedding are David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband, the leaders of the three main parties represented in the House of Commons. They will be in the company of high society enjoying the ceremony. However, on Saturday they will be back on the campaign trail drumming up support for their respective position on the referendum on voting reform to be held next Friday.

On May 5, a year after a general election in Britain returned a hung Parliament, Britons are summoned to head back to polling stations, this time to elect more than 9,000 local councillors and to decide on the future’s electoral system. The referendum was the price the Tories had to pay to secure the Lib Dems’ support to form a coalition government last year.

What is the difference between the present and the proposed electoral system?

The system used to elect British MPs is a pluralitarian one known as First-Past-The-Post. The system requires single-member constituencies, is renowned for its simplicity and is the second most widely used system in the world. Parties nominate a single candidate, voters put a cross next to their preferred candidate and the one who wins the highest number of votes is elected. All other votes do not count. A candidate, therefore, needs to win a simple majority not an absolute majority of votes to secure election.

What is being proposed is a majoritarian system known as Alternative Vote (AV) and is also employed in single-member constituencies. With the proposed system, a candidate requires an absolute majority (50 per cent +1) of the votes to be declared elected. For this reason, the method of voting would need to be changed and voters will be asked to rank their preferred candidates as we do in the Maltese system, rather than putting a cross next to the preferred candidate. If no candidate reaches the quota (50 per cent +1), the candidate with the least number of votes will be eliminated and his/her votes transferred to the next available preference. The procedure continues until a candidate wins an absolute majority of votes.

What will change in the British political system if the new voting method is adopted?

A number of seats which up to now were considered safe for parties may become vulnerable. In most cases, candidates would be required to seek lower preferences from supporters of other parties to secure election. This system will give new powers to voters and voting turnout would probably rise because voters’ choices will be more reflected in parliamentary seats. Coalition governments are likely to become the norm, rather than the exception. If, for instance, AV was employed in the last general election, the Lib Dems would have probably won about 79 seats instead of 57 and the Tories would have been the net losers.

It does not come as a surprise then that the Conservatives are campaigning for a no vote while the Lib Dems and Labour are jointly campaigning for a yes vote.

Interestingly, new alliances have been formed. Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, is shoulder to shoulder with Ed Miliband campaigning for the reform. Still, the divide is not strictly along party lines. Last week, for instance, former Labour minister John Reid shared the platform with Mr Cameron to campaign against the reform. Labour’s and Lib Dems’ individual MPs, especially those whose seat may become vulnerable, are also sceptical about the reform.

How will the British public vote? Is there enough interest among Britons to participate in the referendum? Will it change anything in the lives of common people?

At the moment, Britain is facing tough times. Spending cuts, increased tuition fees, job losses and rising cost of living are the real issues people in Britain are concerned about. Matters relating to the conducting of elections feature very low in people’s current priorities. Britons will wake up to their daily routine on Saturday. However, tomorrow, they will put aside the vicissitudes of their daily lives to raise a glass in a pub or at a street party for the well-being of the newly wedded royals.