Why Is Ed Miliband Supporting A Yes Vote On AV?..

Thanks to a very handy new (ish) feature on the Electoral Calculus website we can see what a General Election result (ascertained from vote share percentage) would be under both First Past The Post (FPTP) and Alternate Vote (AV) systems.

Yesterday’s (17/11/10) YouGov Poll (CON 40% LAB 40% LIB DEM 11%) would equate to a seat projection of LAB 323 CON 291 LIB DEM 11 under the FPTP system. Under AV the YouGov Poll would equate to a seat projection of LAB 316 CON 282 LIB DEM 28. Between the two systems, Labour would lose seven seats, the Tories would lose nine seats and the Lib Dems would gain seventeen seats.

The Tories and Lib Dems position on the FPTP/AV Referendum is understandable- The Tories want a “No” vote as they would lose seats under AV and the Lib Dems want a “Yes” vote as they would gain seats under AV. But why do Labour want as “Yes” vote on AV even though they would be at a disadvantage under that voting system?

Are they trying to woo the Lib Dems? Are they thinking under the new boundaries AV would be more favourable than FPTP?

I believe Ed Miliband is supporting a “Yes” vote on AV for the simple reason he has to- Miliband won the leadership controversially under AV and to support FPTP would be a massive u-turn.