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Tag Archives: overall majority

Not So Fast with AV in a Second Referendum

Posted on October 2, 2018 by The Constitution Unit

albert_weale (1)As the debate about whether or not to have a second Brexit referendum continues, the form any such process might take remains unclear. Ahead of the launch of his new book on particpatory democracy, Albert Weale argues that caution should be exercised when considering the use of the Alternative Vote system in any future Brexit referendum. 

In a valuable blog on what question might be put to voters in a second Brexit referendum, Jess Sargeant, Alan Renwick and Meg Russell conclude that if a three-way option is put to voters, the alternative vote (AV) system could be the right one to use. The basis for this conclusion is that when three options are involved, the option that receives the single largest number of votes may not receive an overall majority. So some system is needed to find out if there is an all-round winner, and the AV system of voting will do this.

It is certainly true that when voters have to choose among three alternatives, the operation of majority voting gets quite complex. This is one of the reasons why, as I explain in my forthcoming The Will of the People: A Modern Myth, it is relying on a myth to talk about ‘the will of the people’ emerging from a referendum. This does not mean abandoning majority voting. But it does mean that we need to be careful in the way we apply the majority principle. Continue reading →

Posted in Brexit, Elections and referendums, Public Engagement and Policy Making | Tagged Albert Weale, Alternative Vote, AV, Brexit, Brexit referendum, condorcet cycle, Condorcet winner, no deal, no deal Brexit, overall majority, participatory democracy, People's Vote, remain, second referendum, The Mechanics of a Further Referendum on Brexit, The Will of the People: A Modern Myth | 1 Comment

Monitor 80: Defending Democracy

Front page of Monitor 80, a newsletter, displaying a fragment of the lead article, and an image of Prime Mniiser Borid Johnson meeing wih Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a room. The two are sat in wooden chairs wih he flags of their respective countries in background

The latest edition of the Constitution Unit newsletter, Monitor, is now available to download.

What Kind of Democracy do we Want?

Taking Back Control

A picture of the front page of the Unit's report, Taking back control: why the House of Commons should govern its own time, including a picture of a clock

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