We didn’t lose AV due to lack of money

The Electoral Commission has released  information on the spending of the Yes and No campaigns and they reveal No outspent Yes, £3.26m to £2.14m.

But it would be  a huge mistake  to think that  we can just blame the different amounts spent. No were much more effective in how they spent their money and had a much more effective strategy. No could have spent twice as much but delivering more badly designed and written leaflets or more appalling press adverts would not have helped.

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/party-finance/party-finance-analysis/referendum-expenditure/2011-parliamentary-voting-system-referendum

 

 

ERS holds special session to discuss lesson from Yes

The Electoral Refrm Society is holding a special session on 3 December to dicuss the lesson from the Referendum.

Here’s what they say:

“Join us on Saturday 3rd December for an opportunity to discuss the lessons from the ‘Yes to Fairer Votes’ campaign and to inform the Society’s future work.

As well as finding out more about the Society’s role in the campaign, you’ll have the chance to hear the perspective of Prof. John Curtice, a leading expert in electoral systems and electoral behaviour, and to question a panel of those involved in campaign’s leadership.

There will be plenty of opportunity to voice your views about the campaign as well as to discuss how we create the conditions for future success”

Is the Lib Dem Review of the referendum being deliberately hidden

Angela Harbutt on the Liberal Vision website  suggests this (I think rather tongue in cheek).

It certainly hasn’t been publicised  very well.As the person who campaigned for the Party to have a proper investigation I would have thought it common courtesy to let me know!

http://www.liberal-vision.org/2011/09/04/lib-dem-review-into-why-we-lost-the-av-campaign-is-out-now-sort-of/

Katie Ghose: Yes campaign literature approved by Lord Sharkey

At the AGM of the Electoral Reform Society yesterday Katie Ghose (Chief Exec of the ERS ) was asked if she had approved the (dreadful) Yes literature.

 

She said she had seen some of it but that responsibility in the campaign for signing off all literature was with the Campaign Director, Lord Sharkey.

 

 

Labour No to ERS spent £192,084 on the Referendum

The Electoral Commission have published the returns of  the bodies who spent less than £250k on the AV Referendum.  Those over £250k will be published in November.

The most intersting figure is that the Labour No campaign spent £192k, vastly more than the Lib Dem Yes campaign £62.7k or Conservative Yes , £6k.

The full figures are here:

 

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/party-finance/party-finance-analysis/referendum-expenditure/2011-parliamentary-voting-system-referendum

 

Overwhelming success of reformers in ERS elections

The reform slate in the ERS Council election have achieved an extraordainary success. Only 4 of the 9 council members who were restanding for election have been successful with the remaining 11 Council members all being new.

The current Chair,Vice Chair and Treasurer were sucessfully  re-elected along with Michael Meadowcroft but the other incumbents were all defeated.

A full list of the winning  candidates can be found here:

 

http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/election-results

 

Lib Dem Conference to discuss AV disaster

The Lib Dems have published a paper which will form the basis of a discussion in a Consultative session at their Conference  about the results of the referendum and the local elections.

 

http://www.libdems.org.uk/siteFiles/resources/docs/conference/Liberal%20Democrats%20Election%20Review%20.pdf

5 Question to consider before voting in the ERS elections

Mark Pack has 5 excellent questions to answer before casting your vote in the ERS elections

http://www.markpack.org.uk/23566/electoral-reform-society-council-elections/

 

Another view on who to support in the ERS elections

Here are some thoughts from Mat Bowles on  who to support in the ERS elections

 

http://matgb.livejournal.com/454588.html

Who will control the ERS’s millions?

A piece for Lib Dem Voice by the author of this blog,  about the struggle that is going on to control the Electoral Reform Sociaty and it’s multi million income

 

http://www.libdemvoice.org/opinion-the-battle-for-the-electoral-reform-society-25030.html