A message below from MVC Director Malcolm Clark - sent to MVC supporters on Friday 6 November:

"I am, because you are, because we are". This African phrase means a lot personally, but also sums up why this is a very hard email for me to write. You - MVC's supporters and activists - are the bedrock of this organisation and the people I have had the most connection with. So it is with some sadness I am writing to inform you that I am imminently stepping down as Director of Make Votes Count, and moving on to a different challenge elsewhere.

It was a tough decision. While no time is good to leave, this seemed like a sensible point to do it. The middle-to-end of November, after the Queen's Speech, was always going to be the time to take stock of where we are: pushing home the gains we have made and looking ahead to our strategy and campaign options for the period running up to, and including, the General Election.

Make Votes Count - and campaigning for a more representative parliament and a better way of doing politics - has been my passion and my enjoyment for the past four and a half years of my life. More if you include volunteering at MVC during 2004-5 and being involved as an activist since 2000!

In that time, we have seen a resurgence of interest among voters, party members, journalists and pressure groups looking at getting rid of First-Past-the-Post as a way of shaking up politics. We have had the first local councillors elected under STV in Britain; and the third set of elections to PR elected bodies in Scotland, Wales, London and Europe. We have had high profile figures and organisations renouncing their former opposition to reform and backing us. We have attracted a new 'army' of parliamentary candidates and the coming generation of political activists. We have built up, most recently through the Vote for a Change campaign, a swathe of civil society and thousands of individuals supporting our efforts. We have also dealt with a number of false dawns for the campaign, and the setbacks as the vested interests of the some politicians and parties reassert themselves over voters' desire for change. The power balance is shifting now though.

One of the things I am proudest about is having harnessed our resources and expertise to enable people to make the most of their political voice: their vote, and their ability to campaign for change in their local communities. Whether through voter education initiatives 'Euro Votes Count' and 'Londoners' Votes Count'; through talks and running practical training workshops; through the campaign actions we have carried out; or simply through the information you have disseminated by email, leaflets and in person ... together we have set about creating active and powerful citizens. That can only help us in our goal to create a new, genuinely participative democracy.

Politics to me is about talking to and persuading your friends, neighbours, colleagues and networks. This is why I have attached such importance to developing the electoral reform activist base; providing us all with the basic skills, messages, resources and core activities to promote the campaign. This year we have really taken that aspect forward: with an MVC-ERS activist training day in March, followed by the launch of Activism Hub website and the speaker programme.

You are part of an ever-increasing group of amazing people who are enthused by the campaign and want to be involved. So many times you have encouraged me, surprised me, inspired me. Your standing order donations have been the lifeblood of the organisation and the additional money you give in response to supporter mailings is a vital way of expanding our work. I am truly grateful for all that you have done for the campaign, and hope not only that your efforts will continue but we will be rewarded - sooner rather than later - with a reformed voting system for the Commons.

Thank you also to all the partner organisations who have supported our campaigning work over the past few years. Too many orgs to name all here, but special mention to: Electoral Reform Society, Unlock Democracy (& Charter88), the Liberal Democrats, the Greens, Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform, Conservative Action for Electoral Reform, Christian Socialist Movement, Fawcett Society, Operation Black Vote, PCS union, Compass and the National Union of Students.

A personal thank you to all the interns and volunteers who have helped in the office. Also to Paul Oldham (http://www.the-hug.co.uk), Denise Cox (http://www.coxcostello.co.uk) and Wayne Nugent (http://www.mailingguy.co.uk) for their invaluable behind-the-scenes work in ensuring our database and website, book-keeping and supporter mailings respectively are all taken care of to high standards.

Now, back to the present and future. For the latest campaign news, see www.voteforachange.co.uk - sign up to receive their emails. For a one-stop activism hub of resources and ideas for you to go out and take action, see http://www.makemyvotecount.org.uk/activismhub

There will be a MVC Management Committee meeting at the end of November, which will look how best MVC can contribute towards the electoral reform campaign effort in the run-up to the election and after. If you would like to feed in your own ideas and thoughts, please email them in (to the usual address, malcolm@makevotescount.org.uk)

In the meantime, MVC's fantastic (paid) interns Phil Connor and Jana Tereick will be checking emails and communicating with supporters; alongside their current campaign work with Vote for a Change. The main MVC email address and phone number will remain the same.

As for me, I am going to work for The Equality Trust http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk - running their 'One Society' campaign, aimed at making income inequality a major general election issue. So from fair votes, now to fair pay and a fair society, a different emphasis but to me part of the same whole.

You can keep in contact with me via my personal email address

Finally - whether in continued electoral reform activism or campaigning on other issues you care about - remember: "brick-by-brick, block-by-block, calloused hand by calloused hand, we can change the world".

All the very best,

Malcolm

Here is what was reported on Sky News last week - maybe it'll encourage Brown to move forward the referendum plans to this side of the General Election.

The results of a YouGov opinion poll for Sky News shows that 59% of 1078 people questioned believe that Gordon Brown's suggestion for a referendum on whether Britain should switch to the alternative vote system, from the current first-past-the-post system is a good idea. 22% thought it was a bad idea, with 19% unsure. The question was included in a Sky News survey of over 1000 adults after Gordon Brown's speech to the Labour Party Conference (Survey carried out between 29-30 September). The people surveyed were also asked how they would vote if a referendum was held on whether to stick with a first-past-the-post system or switch to the alternative vote for electing MPs. 43% of people questioned voted in favour of the new system, 26% would rather stick with the current system, 9% wouldn't vote and 21% were unsure

- Full steam ahead as Campaign heads for Tory Conference.
- Pit stop planned in Blear’s Salford Seat

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2668/3963122065_7691336983.jpg

Fresh from leading thousands of protestors at Labour’s Brighton Conference http://www.demotiximages.com/news/gordon-gravy-train the Vote for a Change campaign, which is been leading calls for a referendum on a voting system that let so many of our MPs off the hook, is heading for Manchester.

With Gordon Brown kicking reform into the long grass with an empty promise of a referendum in Labour’s next Manifesto, the campaign is now targeting Tory Conference, and their leader David Cameron who preaches ‘choice’, but not on where it counts – on the big question of how we hire and fire our MPs.

Campaigners are training their sights on the politicians who are unprepared to break a voting system that has left parliament unaccountable and unrepresentative, and are taking their very own Gravy Train to conference, staffed by some very familiar faces from the Tory front bench.

The campaign’s Gravy Train, which was branded “irresponsible” by Labour officials on its London launch leg, is now heading on a national tour.
http://www.hounslowguardian.co.uk/news/4644140.All_aboard_the_gravy_train__Protesters_hit_Ann_Keen_s_office/

Willie Sullivan from the Vote for a Change campaign said:

“From duck islands to second jobs, the Gravy Train is alive and well and on it’s way to Manchester.”

“Westminster’s Gravy Train is fuelled by a political system that leaves hundreds of MPs safe to enjoy jobs for life – all expenses paid. In Cameron’s seat, like hundreds of others, you’d need a time machine to see when voters last managed to shake off an incumbent, even though the majority of people continue to back other parties. It’s a system that keeps voters weak, and politicians strong.

“Now as Tories arrive in Manchester, we’re asking why a party of the future remains so committed to the politics of the past.

We’ve taken our campaign into the seats of MPs who feel voters don’t deserve the final say on the future of their parliament. Cameron has made it clear he isn’t a supporter of reform, but that’s no reason to stand in the way of debate. He can tell us the system works as much as he likes; he just needs to accept that the voters, his employers, might just have an opinion. As all MPs should know politics isn’t about lectures, it’s about debate, and the time for that debate is now

“This is about giving voters a choice, a concept all Conservatives should be familiar with - if they’ve read their own literature. We need to call a halt to the Westminster Gravy Train, and David Cameron can either act in the interest of his fellow passengers or in the interests of voters.

Photo Op
Please contact Malcolm Clark on 07733 322 148 for more details.

The ‘Gravy Train’ crewed by Cameron, Blears and Brown will heading to Manchester and Salford.

Sunday - MANCHESTER
1.15 - 2.45pm
Photo op at the train at Owen St car park, before following route past Piccadilly and Oxford Road train stations, culminating at Friends Meeting House

2.45 - 3.15pm
Outside Friends Meeting House, Mount Street. Photos by arrangement only, as we will otherwise be busy setting up for the meeting.

3.15-4.30pm
Public meeting: Have the Conservatives got what it takes to clean up politics, hosted by Martin Bell. This event will be filmed, and members of the press are invited to attend. For more information or a press release contact willie@voteforachange.co.uk

Sunday 4.30 - 5.30
Photos outside of the Friends Meeting House

Monday – MANCHESTER AND SALFORD
10.00-11.00am
Photocall at Friends Meeting House, Mount Street and Albert Square

12:00 - 12.30pm
Photocall and leafleting in Salford, at Hazel Blears MP's constituency office - Jubilee House, 51 The Crescent, Salford M5 4WX

PHOTOS
Hi res photos of the Brighton leg are available to the press.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/voteforachangeuk/sets/72157622475515102/

- Full steam ahead as Campaign heads for Tory Conference.
- Pit stop planned in Blear’s Salford Seat

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2668/3963122065_7691336983.jpg

Fresh from leading thousands of protestors at Labour’s Brighton Conference http://www.demotiximages.com/news/gordon-gravy-train the Vote for a Change campaign, which is been leading calls for a referendum on a voting system that let so many of our MPs off the hook, is heading for Manchester.

With Gordon Brown kicking reform into the long grass with an empty promise of a referendum in Labour’s next Manifesto, the campaign is now targeting Tory Conference, and their leader David Cameron who preaches ‘choice’, but not on where it counts – on the big question of how we hire and fire our MPs.

Campaigners are training their sights on the politicians who are unprepared to break a voting system that has left parliament unaccountable and unrepresentative, and are taking their very own Gravy Train to conference, staffed by some very familiar faces from the Tory front bench.

The campaign’s Gravy Train, which was branded “irresponsible” by Labour officials on its London launch leg, is now heading on a national tour.
http://www.hounslowguardian.co.uk/news/4644140.All_aboard_the_gravy_train__Protesters_hit_Ann_Keen_s_office/

Willie Sullivan from the Vote for a Change campaign said:

“From duck islands to second jobs, the Gravy Train is alive and well and on it’s way to Manchester.” “Westminster’s Gravy Train is fuelled by a political system that leaves hundreds of MPs safe to enjoy jobs for life – all expenses paid. In Cameron’s seat, like hundreds of others, you’d need a time machine to see when voters last managed to shake off an incumbent, even though the majority of people continue to back other parties. It’s a system that keeps voters weak, and politicians strong. “Now as Tories arrive in Manchester, we’re asking why a party of the future remains so committed to the politics of the past. We’ve taken our campaign into the seats of MPs who feel voters don’t deserve the final say on the future of their parliament. Cameron has made it clear he isn’t a supporter of reform, but that’s no reason to stand in the way of debate. He can tell us the system works as much as he likes; he just needs to accept that the voters, his employers, might just have an opinion. As all MPs should know politics isn’t about lectures, it’s about debate, and the time for that debate is now “This is about giving voters a choice, a concept all Conservatives should be familiar with - if they’ve read their own literature. We need to call a halt to the Westminster Gravy Train, and David Cameron can either act in the interest of his fellow passengers or in the interests of voters.

Photo Op
Please contact Malcolm Clark on 07733 322 148 for more details.

The ‘Gravy Train’ crewed by Cameron, Blears and Brown will heading to Manchester and Salford.

Sunday - MANCHESTER
1.15 - 2.45pm
Photo op at the train at Owen St car park, before following route past Piccadilly and Oxford Road train stations, culminating at Friends Meeting House

2.45 - 3.15pm
Outside Friends Meeting House, Mount Street. Photos by arrangement only, as we will otherwise be busy setting up for the meeting.

3.15-4.30pm
Public meeting: Have the Conservatives got what it takes to clean up politics, hosted by Martin Bell. This event will be filmed, and members of the press are invited to attend. For more information or a press release contact willie@voteforachange.co.uk

Sunday 4.30 - 5.30
Photos outside of the Friends Meeting House

Monday – MANCHESTER AND SALFORD
10.00-11.00am
Photocall at Friends Meeting House, Mount Street and Albert Square

12:00 - 12.30pm
Photocall and leafleting in Salford, at Hazel Blears MP's constituency office - Jubilee House, 51 The Crescent, Salford M5 4WX

PHOTOS
Hi res photos of the Brighton leg are available to the press.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/voteforachangeuk/sets/72157622475515102/

As eyes focus on Manchester, and what could be the Tories last conference in opposition, campaigners are asking if Cameron’s Party really have what it takes to clean up politics.

The Vote for a Change campaign, which has been leading calls for a referendum on a voting system that let so many of our MPs off the hook, has organised an event hosted by anti-sleaze campaigner Martin Bell, with guests including maverick MEP and star of Youtube and FoxNews Dan Hannon, and Lewis Baston, from the Guardian’s Comment is Free.

With voters facing another unaccountable and unrepresentative parliament at the next election the meeting will be asking if Tory Tinkering is enough to fix our broken politics.

Willie Sullivan from the Vote for a Change campaign said:

“In Brighton Gordon Brown had his chance to let voters decide the future of their parliament. He blew it. His empty promise to put a referendum on the voting system in Labour’s manifesto was a case of words winning out over decisive action. “David Cameron and his party remain steadfastly opposed to letting the people decide how we elect our politicians. So as Tories arrive in Manchester, we’re asking why a party of the future remains so committed to the politics of the past. “The bankrupt politics of first-past-the-post have left the majority of our MPs are free to enjoy jobs for life – all expenses paid. Poll after poll is proving that voters of all parties want change. We’ve seen Tory Tinkering – from calls for smaller parliaments, open primaries, even pricier dinners in the Commons canteen - but not one proposal has any chance of giving all of us a vote that really counts on Election Day. “We’ll see if the Conservatives are willing to grasp the nettle of reform, or are simply interested in grabbing headlines” “Conservatives always describe themselves as the party of choice, and we’ll see if they’re prepared to let the public have that choice at a referendum. Cameron’s promised voters a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, but after all we saw in the expenses crisis the big question of how we hire and fire out MP is just as important. “Politics isn’t about lectures or hollow promises, it’s about debate. And the time for that debate is now.”

A Very British Revolution: The Expenses Scandal and How To Save Our Democracy by Martin Bell due to be published by Icon Books on 2 October 2009.

MEMBERS OF THE PRESS ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND
Have the Conservatives got what it takes to clean up politics?
Sunday, October 4, 2009, 3:15pm - 4:45pm
Friends Meeting House, Mount Street, Manchester
A public debate on the eve of the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, this is an ideal opportunity for voters in the North West to demand a different kind of politics.

Speakers include:
MARTIN BELL
DANIEL HANNAN MEP
LEWIS BASTON
JOHN STRAFFORD (Chairman of the Campaign for Conservative Democracy)

Photo op
The campaign brought its ‘Gravy Train’ crewed by Cameron, Blears and Brown to Labour’s Conference in Brighton, and will heading to Manchester and Salford. The Gravy Train will be on site from 3:00pm – 3:15pm. Please contact Malcolm Clark on 07733 322 148 for more details.

Hi res photos are available to the press.

(taken from a Vote for a Change media release)

The Vote for a Change campaign, that has been leading calls for a referendum on the voting system, has reacted with disbelief Gordon Brown’s decision to put a referendum in Labour’s Manifesto, rather

Willie Sullivan from the Vote for a Change campaign said:

“Gordon Brown today said that we faced the biggest choices of a generation. With his manifesto pledge of a referendum on the Alternative Vote he’s offered one of the smallest. “After all we’ve seen of the Westminster Gravy train what our politics required was a giant leap. But what Brown said today isn’t even a small step. This is just another empty promise to take that step. Labour promised a referendum in 1997, they didn’t deliver. There is little reason to view this as anything more than a manifesto commitment from a party that may be heading for defeat. Sunshine, lollypops and rainbows may as well be in that manifesto. It amounts to the same thing. A lack of action, and a lack of nerve from a Prime Minister unwilling to embrace real reform. "We are pleased to have won this commitment from the Prime Minister. But if you are committed to the principle of a referendum on the system then you should be principled enough to deliver it when it’s with in your power to do so. "People do well to judge politicians on their actions not their words. Today Brown's speech demonstrated he’s not serious about reform. He has time between now and the Queen’s Speech to build up from amounts to a promise to do nothing.

Hi res shots of the Brighton leg of the gravy train tour are available here: http://bit.ly/125dp4

For any further press enquiries, contact Campaign’s Director Willie Sullivan on 07940 523 842 willie@voteforachange.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

The ‘Vote for a Change’ campaign is leading the call for a referendum on the voting system in the wake of the expenses crisis. It is based on the premise that politics is too important to be left to the politicians.

The Vote for a Change campaign filled Central Hall Westminster during the summer with a rally calling on the government to deliver on a referendum. The campaign has attracted support from thousands of ordinary citizens, heads of prominent civil society and membership organisations.

It has now been promised talks with ministers after an appeal to the Prime Minister signed by 2000 of its supporters. More information is available via the ‘Vote for a Change’ website. http://www.voteforachange.co.uk/

This is our big event at Labour Conference. And a historic one too, with organisations from across the Labour spectrum coming together to co-host a rally on democratic renewal, including electoral reform.

Has Labour Got What it Takes?: Rally for Democratic Renewal

Tuesday 29 September 2009,
20.00 - 21.15
Royal Albion Hotel.

Hosts: Compass, Fabian Society, Progress, Vote For a Change

Chair: Mehdi Hasan, New Statesman

Keynote: John Denham MP

Speakers: Billy Hayes (CWU), Oona King, Dave Rowntree, Professor Jonathan Hopkins (LSE), Neal Lawson

Event is free and open to the public. No passes necessary. RSVP to malcolm@makevotescount.org.uk or simply turn up on the evening.

Class of 2010: the Reformers Reception

Wednesday 30 September 8.30 – 10 pm at the Umi Hotel (on corner of West Street) Brighton

(open to all Labour party members / supporters. No passes needed)

Hosts: Ben Bradshaw, Mary Honeyball, Richard Howitt, Nancy Platts and Sam Tarry. With John Grogan LCER Chair

Supported by our Labour prospective candidates: Cath Arakelian, Paul Blomfield, Simon Burgess, Mark Cann, Damien Egan, Roxanne Egan,
Bruce Hogan, Mike Le-Surf, Bassam Mahfouz, Andrew Pakes, Liam Robinson, Tim Shand, Robert Smith, Stephen Twigg, Julian Ware-Lane and others.

Join us if you think Labour’s policy on electoral reform should be to
“let the people decide” by holding a referendum,
and then vote for a change!

Contact: lcerinfo@yahoo.co.uk / marysouthcott@hotmail.com / 020 7928 2076

Bringing you fanastic news from the TUC Congress - which last week voted in favour of instigating a proper debate on electoral reform.

Nearly a century since the TUC first resolved, without dissent, that “no system of election can be satisfactory which does not give opportunity to all parties to obtain representation proportional to their voting strength”, the fact that the trade union movement in 2009 has committed itself to instigating a debate on the introduction of proportional representation is highly significant.

This is the full text of what was agreed:

'Congress recognises that democratic renewal also requires elected politicians to be properly representative of, and accountable to, their constituents and therefore calls on the General Council to instigate a debate within the trade union movement on change in the current parliamentary electoral system towards a system of proportional representation'

Proposing the amendment, Chris Baugh (Assistant General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union) explained that his union had reached its conclusion about the importance of moving to a fairer voting system from the experience of their own "Make My Vote Count" campaign. In order to open the way for a politics where every trade union member had the chance to vote for a party that really represents their views, PCS believes that it would be necessary to move away from the First Past the Post voting system, and encourages other unions to reflect on the need for meaningful electoral reform.

Significantly, the motion was carried with the support of some of the unions that are affiliated to the Labour party. In doing so, they have sent a signal ahead to Gordon Brown ahead of Labour's conference beginning next week, that electoral reform is now being considered as a critical step in reshaping politics to meet the needs of voters in the 21st Century.

It is worth remembering that Brown announced to the House of Commons on June 10th that the Labour government would:

…be prepared to propose change if there is a broad consensus in the country that it would strengthen our democracy and our politics by improving the effectiveness and legitimacy of both government and parliament; and by enhancing the level and quality of representation and public engagement. [and]..., we will set out proposals for taking this debate forward.

Now we are starting to see that broad consensus really emerge.

On Sunday 27th September, Vote for a Change is sponsoring a debate hosted by the New Statesman:

'Do politicians still matter?'

Speakers:
Douglas Alexander (Secretary of State for International Development), Peter Hitchens (Mail on Sunday), Tessa Jowell MP and Peter Tatchell.

Chair: Mehdi Hasan, New Statesman

4pm - 5.30pm

The Thistle Hotel, in the Renaissance Ballroom.

Open to the public. No conference passes needed.

Full details for all events can be found on the website at
www.newstatesman.com/conference

Come along and join the debate.

PHOTO CALL - On Tuesday 22nd September:

On-site contact: Malcolm Clark (m) 07733322148

The branded Gravy Train (http://www.pjentertainments.co.uk/land_train.htm), crewed by masked figures such as Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Hazel Blears, will be passing through North West London, past local landmarks, constituency offices and new billboards promoting the campaign. Campaigners will be spending the day delivering postcards, formatted as train tickets, to voters across the area.

Brentford and Isleworth

Main photocall at 8.45am at billboard site by Pets at Home store, 2-10 London Road, TW8 8JW

Additional photo opportunities at:

9.30am - Kew Bridge Steam Museum, Green Dragon Lane, Brentford TW8 0EN

10.20am - Ann Keen’s constituency office, 367 Chiswick High Road W4 4AG

Harrow

Main photocall at 1pm at billboard site by Greenhill Way car park, Greenhill Way (Station Road end), Harrow HA1 1LE

Additional photo opportunities at:

1.40pm - outside St Ann's shopping centre rear entrance by junction with Havelock Place and St Ann's Road, Harrow HA1 1LJ

2.50pm – Tony McNulty constituency office, 18 Byron Road (corner with Oxford Rd), Harrow HA3 7ST

Watford

Main photocall at 5.15pm at billboard site by Chalk Hill / Pinner Rd roundabout, 100m from Bushey train station, Pinner Road, WD19 4EA

Photocalls at billboard sites will last 30 minutes and 20mins at other locations. Local campaign supporters will be available for interview during those times, as well as Willie Sullivan, director of the Vote for a Change campaign.
http://www.voteforachange.co.uk/

On Tuesday 22nd September, residents across North West London and Watford will be joining calls for a halt to the Gravy Train that has left MPs – including their own – unaccountable and unrepresentative of their constituents. 

The Vote for a Change campaign has chosen Brentford, Harrow East and Watford constituencies as launch pad for a national campaign targeting “roadblocks” - incumbents unprepared to let voters to decide on how we hire and fire our MPs with a referendum on the voting system.  

Photo call details below:

The campaign’s very own Gravy Train, carrying some very familiar faces from the front benches, will be touring sites across the constituency.

Departing from London this Tuesday, the Gravy Train has scheduled stops in Brighton and Manchester this conference season, before heading out on a nationwide tour.  

Willie Sullivan, from the Vote for a Change Campaign, said:

“This summer the Westminster Gravy Train hit the buffers. But we can’t let this opportunity to build a better politics be lost by its current passengers unwillingness to let voters make that change. Our relationships with politicians begin and end at the ballot box.  But our voting system has left us weak and them strong. It dictates whose votes count and whose views matter. It decides which MPs are safe to enjoy jobs for life - all expenses paid. The system has set the rules for our broken politics, and voters deserve a say if these rules stand. “MPs like Tony McNulty, Ann Keen and Claire Ward have to decide are they with the voters or against them? We’re not out simply to berate the villains of the expenses crisis. We’re out to expose the roadblocks to reform, those MPs who feel that voters don’t deserve the final say on the future of their parliament. MPs should know that politics isn’t about lectures. It’s about debate. We want a debate on the future of our democracy, not to be told what’s best for us by politicians who’ve been so well served by the system.  “We welcome any of supporters of the current system prepared to have a national debate. Let them have their say. But let the voters have the final verdict at a referendum. Opinion polls have shown that voters are prepared to reward politicians who trust them enough to let them decide how MPs are elected. Starting today, those don’t trust their voters will face the consequences. “MPs watch out: your penalty fare is due, in full.”

Future targets include: Hazel Blears, Nadine Dorries, Gordon Brown, Jack Straw, Daniel Kawczynki, Shahid Malik

http://www.voteforachange.co.uk

"The idea is gaining support in the Cabinet, and Labour now looks certain to fight the next election on a firm commitment to scrap the current voting system"

So reports The Independent in a piece today.

What makes this more than idle speculation? According to the Indy:

The Government's Democratic Renewal Council, chaired by Gordon Brown, met this week. Although no final decision was taken, The Independent has learnt that the options it is considering include:

* Rushing through legislation before the election to allow a referendum on electoral reform shortly afterwards;

* A polling day referendum on the principle of changing the system, to be followed by a second plebiscite if there were a "yes" vote;

* A polling day referendum on a switch to AV or "AV plus", to be implemented at the following general election;

* A Labour manifesto commitment to change the system if the party retains power.

One cabinet source said: "The idea of a referendum on election day is on the agenda. It is a very live issue."

The Independent also follows up the piece with a stirring editorial in support of voting reform, and calling on people to keep up the pressure on politicians to move forward with reform:

Put simply, our voting system is malfunctioning. The country is replete with "safe" parliamentary seats, which render the votes of millions of the electorate effectively meaningless. Meanwhile, under the present first-past-the-post system smaller parties have no chance to translate their support into representation at Westminster. We see the baleful consequences of this in increasingly meagre turnouts at elections and the growing alienation of the general public from their political representatives. Labour has proved a fickle supporter of electoral reform over the years. And David Cameron, despite the Conservative leader's professed desire for a "massive, sweeping, radical distribution of power" has set his face against reform of the voting system. Yet none of this provides an excuse for those who believe that reform would be invigorating for our democracy to give up. On the contrary, the fact that Labour looks likely to put electoral reform on the political agenda in the run-up to the next election means that public pressure on the two main parties (the Liberal Democrats have always been advocates) is more vital than ever. Labour must finally deliver on a promise it made more than a decade ago. And the Conservatives need to match their reforming rhetoric with serious proposals. Now is the time to impress on all of our politicians that electoral reform is the people's will.

As part of the Vote for a Change coalition, Make Votes count echoes their call for real voting reform to be included in the Queen's Speech. The timer below is counting down the time that politicians have to make sure that this is the case.

In the States, a President's first '100 Days' is synonymous with change. It's an opportunity to break with the past - to prove that politics and politicians are still capable of surprises.

Well if any country ever needed a break from the past then it's Britain.

Today we start our countdown to our very own 100 Days. 100 Days to ensure that real voting reform makes it into the Queen's Speech on Nov 18. This will be the first since the expenses crisis, the last of this parliament, and potentially the last by this government. This is their last chance.

In 100 days we'll know if politicians are prepared to throw the rule book of politics in the bin, along with safe seats and jobs for life - by delivering a referendum on the voting system. They can either spend the time ahead confronting the crisis at Westminster head on, or waste it rearranging the deckchairs.

But today you can help spread the word with our countdown widget as shown above. Pop it on your site, on your blog, and get your readers to sign up.

http://voteforachange.co.uk/widget

Time is short. In 100 days we'll know if politicians are serious about change. With your help we can get the message through.

The Clock is ticking...

http://voteforachange.co.uk/widget

As part of the Vote for a Change coalition, Make Votes count echoes their call for real voting reform to be included in the Queen's Speech. The timer below is counting down the time that politicians have to make sure that this is the case.

In the States, a President's first '100 Days' is synonymous with change. It's an opportunity to break with the past - to prove that politics and politicians are still capable of surprises.

Well if any country ever needed a break from the past then it's Britain.

Today we start our countdown to our very own 100 Days. 100 Days to ensure that real voting reform makes it into the Queen's Speech. This will be the first since the expenses crisis, the last of this parliament, and potentially the last by this government. This is their last chance.

In 100 days we'll know if politicians are prepared to throw the rule book of politics in the bin, along with safe seats and jobs for life - by delivering a referendum on the voting system. They can either spend the time ahead confronting the crisis at Westminster head on, or waste it rearranging the deckchairs.

But today you can help spread the word with our countdown widget as shown above. Pop it on your site, on your blog, and get your readers to sign up.

http://voteforachange.co.uk/widget

Time is short. In 100 days we'll know if politicians are serious about change. With your help we can get the message through.

The Clock is ticking...

http://voteforachange.co.uk/widget

Actor and broadcaster Nicholas Parsons, has given his support to the Vote for a Change campaign and had this to say,

If I could please have your attention for just a minute. I’ll have no need for deviation, the case is very straightforward. We simply must find a fairer way of electing people into power. To me proportional representation works. There will be no repetition as I can’t see what more needs to be said. This is both obvious and instinctive, it is something which just has to happen. So I have no hesitation in fully backing the Vote for a Change campaign and echoing its call for a referendum on a different voting system for Westminster.

To see the other high profile supporters that have joined the call for voting reform click here

Good to report a Conservative extolling the virtues of a PR system, or at least some of the good points of being a representative for a 'top-up', region-wide seat.

Victoria Borwick AM writes in her latest newsletter:

The role of a Londonwide Assembly Member is very varied and gives me the opportunity to travel throughout London meeting Londoners, listening to their day-to-day problems and the questions they want put to the Mayor. Representing all Londoners means I can be chatting about the congestion charge in Chiswick in the morning, and in the afternoon I’ll be in Enfield evaluating the latest policing initiatives with local councillors and shopkeepers. The official role of the London Assembly is to scrutinise the work of the Mayor, particularly his budget. However we also perform a vital role in visiting all parts of London – attending community events, residents’ forums and voluntary groups to hear what local people have to say.

The Tories have taken Norwich North from Labour, with the results of the by-election this morning confirming the predictable election of Chloe Smith, now the youngest Member of Parliament.

Smith gained 13 591 votes, defeating Labour's Chris Ostrowski with a massive margin.

However, last night's episode of Question Time, filmed at St Andrew's Hall in Norwich serves as an example of Norwich residents' disillusionment with Labour, rather than support for the Conservatives.

Many constituents here (in Norwich) maintain that Ian Gibson was a good representative of Norwich and a strong Parliamentarian, unafraid to speak his mind, which is what ultimately forced him out. The point was raised by an audience member that Geoff Hoon's expenses claims, for example, left a lot more to be desired than Gibson's, yet Hoon came away relatively unscaithed.

The Tories really had to do very little to win the by-election: it seems Labour did most of it for them.

With regards to whether the by-election is a projection of what is in store for Labour in the next general election, I think it's fair to say that if the Conservatives do win by a landslide, it'll be Labour's loss - not a Tory gain.

On Monday our friends at the Vote for a Change campaign are delivering a letter to Downing Street.

Today we need your signature to join thousands of other supporters who believe our politics must change.

http://voteforachange.co.uk/page/s/deargordon

Politics is too important to be left to the politicians. And that's just what we need to tell the Prime Minister.