New poll: Miliband boost for voting reform


by Newswire    
12:22 pm - September 30th 2010

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Following Ed Miliband’s announcement that he supports voting reform, a new opinion poll shows that 39% of people back changing the voting system with only 29% in favour of keeping First Past the Post.

Crucially, Labour voters, who had opposed voting reform in recent polls, now support it by 43%-32%. 32% of voters are still undecided.

The poll also confirmed that Right Wing attacks on Ed Miliband had flopped, as large majorities of people agreed that Ed Miliband is serious about reducing the deficit, was right to distance himself from the war on Iraq, right to admit that Labour made mistakes, and right to condemn irresponsible strikes. As with every other poll, there was also massive public support from supporters of all main parties for higher taxes on the rich and banks, greater rights for agency workers, and a higher minimum wage.

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Reader comments


1. Andy

32% undecided is still a HUGE market for both the Yes and No campaigns to tap into, though, even if everybody who has committed to one side or the other was going to stick to their stated intention. The outcome of the referendum will come down to which side runs the more effective campaign.

Incidentally, without a proportional option I’ll still be spoiling my paper.

2. Chaise Guevara

“Incidentally, without a proportional option I’ll still be spoiling my paper.”

But a proportional option under FPTP would bury both PR and AV. Would you prefer that? Why not vote for a minor improvement and then push for the main prize instead of insisting on a poll that’ll keep the worst available system in place?

3. BenM

The poll also confirmed that Right Wing attacks on Ed Miliband had flopped

The Right has spent almost all of its energies in the last week comparing Ed Miliband to a plethora of cartoon characters.

Which really marks the sort of level the Right is at.

4. Makhno

@ 2: I don’t think anybody has argued for FPTP to be included in a multiple-option question. Rather, those who’ve called for multi-option want to see a two-part question: 1) should we ditch FPTP? 2) what should we replace it with?

That way there’d be no danger of FPTP “winning” with minority support.

@ 1: A spoiled ballot is a vote for FPTP. AV is an incremental improvement, but it’s a foot in the door for reform; if this referendum fails, the Tory press will declare “Look, the people clearly don’t want reform”, and any change will be off the table for a generation or more.


Reactions: Twitter, blogs
  1. Liberal Conspiracy

    New poll: Miliband boost for voting reform http://bit.ly/bItj5j

  2. Don Paskini

    new yougov poll Alternative Vote 39% First Past The Post 29%, labour voters now back voting reform http://bit.ly/bItj5j

  3. Naadir Jeewa

    RT @donpaskini: new yougov poll Alternative Vote 39% First Past The Post 29%, labour voters now back voting reform http://bit.ly/bItj5j

  4. Lee Griffin

    RT @donpaskini: new yougov poll Alternative Vote 39% First Past The Post 29%, labour voters now back voting reform http://bit.ly/bItj5j

  5. GuyAitchison

    RT @donpaskini: new yougov poll Alternative Vote 39% First Past The Post 29%, labour voters now back voting reform http://bit.ly/bItj5j

  6. Will Straw

    Labour voters support AV by 43% to 32%. Public supports by 39-29. http://bit.ly/bItj5j (via @donpaskini)

  7. Duncan Stott

    RT @donpaskini: new yougov poll Alternative Vote 39% First Past The Post 29%, labour voters now back voting reform http://bit.ly/bItj5j

  8. Andy Sutherland

    RT @wdjstraw: Labour voters support AV by 43% to 32%. Public supports by 39-29. http://bit.ly/bItj5j (via @donpaskini)

  9. Kevin McNamara

    RT @donpaskini: new yougov poll Alternative Vote 39% First Past The Post 29%, labour voters now back voting reform http://bit.ly/bItj5j

  10. Daniel Furr

    RT @donpaskini: new yougov poll Alternative Vote 39% First Past The Post 29%, labour voters now back voting reform http://bit.ly/bItj5j

  11. Paul Perrin

    RT @donpaskini new yougov poll Alternative Vote 39% First Past The Post 29%, labour voters back voting reform http://bit.ly/bItj5j #YesToAV

  12. Steve Dunthorne

    RT @wdjstraw: Labour voters support AV by 43% to 32%. Public supports by 39-29. http://bit.ly/bItj5j (via @donpaskini)

  13. Paris Gourtsoyannis

    RT @wdjstraw: Labour voters support AV by 43% to 32%. Public supports by 39-29. http://bit.ly/bItj5j (via @donpaskini)

  14. Neil Wigglesworth

    RT @libcon: New poll: Miliband boost for voting reform http://bit.ly/bItj5j

  15. Pascal Jacquemain

    RT @donpaskini: new yougov poll Alternative Vote 39% First Past The Post 29%, labour voters now back voting reform http://bit.ly/bItj5j

  16. Andrew Lewin

    Great news for everyone who wants democratic renewal and a fairer voting system. Ed says #YestoAV & moves the polls http://bit.ly/bItj5j

  17. Adam Casey

    New poll: Miliband boost for voting reform | Liberal Conspiracy – http://j.mp/aSouJc I knew he'd help but that was fast. #No2AV #Yes2AV

  18. FeargalHogan

    RT @wdjstraw: Labour voters support AV by 43% to 32%. Public supports by 39-29. http://bit.ly/bItj5j (via @donpaskini)

  19. Pucci Dellanno

    RT @libcon: New poll: Miliband boost for voting reform http://bit.ly/bItj5j

  20. Michelle

    RT @rebellionkid: New poll: Miliband boost for voting reform | Liberal Conspiracy – http://j.mp/aSouJc I knew he'd help but that was fas …

  21. TakeBackParliamentNL

    RT @donpaskini: new yougov poll Alternative Vote 39% First Past The Post 29%, labour voters now back voting reform http://bit.ly/bItj5j





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