Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill

I understand the Minister's point, but I just want to help him avoid becoming too much like the Deputy Prime Minister, because we would not want him to morph into a Liberal Democrat—I am sure he would not want that either. [Interruption.] The Deputy Prime Minister started with this concept of a personal idea on the situation in Iraq, so I just gently say that to the Minister. The one thing on which I wholeheartedly agree with the Minister is what he said about Government amendments 230, 231 and 232 on changing the precise wording of the question. I think that the Electoral Commission has done a good job. It has looked at this and given us a better question, and we wholeheartedly support that. However, that is not the real point. The real difficulty was pointed out by the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex (Mr Jenkin), who said that the bit that the Electoral Commission discovered that most people did not fully understand is what ““alternative vote”” means. I am not going to go down the route of supporting his amendment 244, which proposes"““optional preferential voting with instant runoff””" because I do not think that his is an unbiased question and I do not think it is intended to be helpful. It was presented with the usual finish and cheek with which he presents his arguments to the House. The speed with which the proposals were introduced, and the lack of consultation between all the political parties in the House, the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee and the wider community, mean that it is more difficult to be confident that by May next year there will be a full information campaign on the precise nature of the alternative vote system. I happen to support alternative vote. I was selected as the candidate in Rhondda by the Labour party under alternative vote, although as it happens I won on first preferences. I happen to be one of the very few Members of Parliament who, in 2005, was elected by more than 40% of not just those who voted, but all the electorate, including those in Rhondda who did not vote. I none the less support alternative vote, and I shall vote in favour of it in a referendum. I just wish that the referendum was not being held next year, and that there was not such a rush. This is one case where the Minister has perhaps got the better of the Deputy Prime Minister, in that the Minister's plans will almost certainly see the Deputy Prime Minister's desire to implement the alternative vote system fail. I want to say a couple of words about the ““preferendum””—a term first coined, I think, in New Zealand—proposed in the amendment of the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas). I confess that I am surprised that not a single Liberal Democrat—not even a Back Bencher—has put their name to the amendment. I recall that the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change said on 2 February 2010:"““We will bring forward amendments next week to give people a real choice for a more significant change to fair votes and a proportional election system.””" The Liberal Democrat election manifesto pledged to change politics and abolish safe sex—safe seats—[Laughter.] That was a Freudian slip. It pledged to abolish safe seats"““by introducing a fair, more proportional voting system for MPs.””" It continued:"““Our preferred Single Transferable Vote system gives people the choice between candidates as well as parties.””" Of course, the Deputy Prime Minister himself said:"““AV is a baby step in the right direction—only because nothing can be worse than the status quo.””" He wanted a proportional system. I think it is a sadness that the great, grand Liberal Democrat party is no longer—[Interruption.] Well, it is certainly large—