Miliband: Don’t use AV vote to punish Clegg
By politics.co.uk staff
Voters should not use their vote at the AV referendum to punish Nick Clegg, Ed Miliband has said.
The Labour leader made the comments at a Yes to AV event beside business secretary Vince Cable and former home secretary Alan Johnson.
Mr Miliband said: “[Some] will say ‘let’s give’ – and I apologise to Vince for saying this – ‘let’s give Nick Clegg a kicking’. Others will say ‘let’s vote yes and give it to David Cameron’.
“The chance to send a message to this Conservative-led government lies with the local elections that take place in local government, Scotland and Wales.
“This isn’t about Nick Clegg, it’s not about David Cameron, it’s not about me. It’s a chance to change the status quo.”
The Labour leader has been put in a difficult position over the course of the campaign. Labour is split down the middle on electoral reform, unlike the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats who are overwhelmingly united as parties on separate sides of the argument.
Mr Miliband is hoping that voters punish the Lib Dems in the local election which take place on the same day but vote ‘yes’ in the AV referendum.
“I’m not saying [AV is] a magic remedy but it can make for more accountable politics,” Mr Miliband continued.
“That’s what we offer: hope.
“What does the No to AV campaign offer? Led by the Conservatives, it offers simply fear.”
Mr Miliband has refused to stand on the same platform as Mr Clegg but he was joined by Mr Cable, who dismissed many arguments against AV.
He refused to be drawn into commenting on the state of the coalition, but dealt with repeated questioning about his decision to snub the Liberal Democrat leader by saying: “I will share a platform with anyone I think can help us win the referendum.”
Mr Cable was dismissive of those who suggested his appearance with a group of centre-left politicians was badly timed, coming just three days after he called the prime minister’s immigration speech “very unwise”.
“The reason we’re on the same platform is we believe in the same cause,” he insisted.
Making a rare public appearance since he stepped down from his role as shadow chancellor, Mr Johnson said AV could improve voter turn-out.
“When I was born in 1950, 94% of MPs had over 50% of the vote,” he said. “Last election it was 44%.
“Over that same period the number of people who don’t vote for the two main parties has doubled. The number of people who don’t vote at all has trebled.”
Comedian Eddie Izzard told the audience that he was “positive about politics” – and that this was the first opportunity voters had to select AV “in the history of the world”.
