Much of the debate between advocates of #Yes2AV and #No2AV is not exactly edifying, particularly some of the tactics employed by the latter group. The quality of some of the debate is pretty feeble. Yesterday’s Question Time was a classic example of an occasion where the topic was raised but the discussion generated more heat than light.

One of the issues that’s attracted a lot of attention is whether a move from First Past The Post to the Alternative Vote will benefit extremists or not. The #No2AV campaign is adamant that it will, while the #Yes2AV campaign is equally certain that the change will have the opposite effect. That the BNP are not in favour of AV is taken as an indication that it is less likely to assist extremists. As I understand it, the BNP’s position is based on a preference for a more proportional system. That at least makes some sense – I’m not sure that either AV or FPTP really offers them a great deal.

This got me thinking about the venerable idea associated with the median voter theorem, which was popularised by Anthony Downs in the 1950s. Continue Reading →