This House would vote Yes to AV on May 5

DATE: Thursday, 3rd March
TIME: 7.30pm - 9.30pm
VENUE: The Harcourt Arms
MOTION: This House would vote Yes to AV on May 5

Background:

This May the British public will go to the polls to decide whether we should change the voting system in general elections from the first past the post (FPTP) system in which one candidate is selected by the voter to the alternative vote (AV) system in which candidates are ranked in order of preference.

The complaints made against our current voting system are many. That it disadvantages smaller parties. That it produces safe seats which disenfranchises a large portion of the electorate. That it is not a fair reflection of the will of the British people. Supporters of AV say that it will change all that. Opponents say that FPTP produces strong government and allows the British people to chuck political parties out of power at the ballot box. Some question whether AV will even fix the problems it says it will. It isn't a proportional system and in some people's eyes that means it doesn't go far enough.

Which way should you vote on AV? Come along to this debate to discuss the ideas and arguments from both sides.

Speakers:

This week's debate will be slightly different as we will be inviting four guest speakers, including representatives of both national campaigns for and against voting reform, to take the floor and explain their point of view.

To ensure debating society members are given a chance to speak in this debate, we are adding an extra speaker to each side. so all in all there will be three speakers in favour and three against. the Yes team will be joined by Shaughan Dolan, one of our longest-serving members who is responsible for putting this week's special debate together, leaving the speaking slot on the No side up for grabs.

As we expect several volunteers for this space, in the interests of fairness, we are this week asking any volunteers to send us a single paragraph, summing up their position. The author of the best entry will then be awarded the final speaking slot tomorrow evening to give you enough time to prepare.

Attending the debate:

Because of the high profile of the motion and our speakers, we anticipate this debate being slightly busier than usual. As a result, the debate will begin at 7.30pm on the dot and we request that anyone wishing to attend arrive between 7pm and 7.20pm. If you arrive after 7.30pm and we already have more than 40 people (the full capacity of the room), you may not be able to get in, so please arrive promptly to ensure that you can get a seat. We hope you will stay to share a drink with us and our guest speakers when the debate is over and get to know us all a little better. The room is booked for the whole night.

Further reading:

Alternative Vote Electoral Reform Society

No to AV reject scare stories claim BBC News

David Cameron and the alternative voting system

Is AV a better voting system LSE blog (London School of Economics)

Nick Clegg: The chance to clean up politics and improve democracy Liberal Democrats Website

If you have any questions or need any more information, do not hesitate to email us at central.debating@gmail.com.

Getting there:

You will find us in the upstairs dining room of the Harcourt Arms pub at 32, Harcourt Street W1H 4HX (a max 1o min walk from Baker St tube). For directions, see this map.

Admission:

Admission is, as ever, totally free of charge. All are welcome, so if you know anyone who might be interested in this debate, do feel free to bring them along.

Joining the Central London Debating Society:

Membership of the Debating society is free of charge as is admission to each of our debates. If you would like to join, simply email us at central.debating@gmail.com

Once you're on our mailing list, you'll receive notifications of all upcoming events and will be eligible to speak at a debate or even try your hand at chairing.

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Best wishes
CLDS