NOtoAV was a political campaign in the United Kingdom whose purpose was to persuade the public to vote against the Alternative Vote (AV) in the referendum on 5 May 2011. The opposition to switching to AV was successful, with the "No" vote to switching to AV receiving 67.9% of votes cast in the 2011 referendum.[1][2]
NO to AV
The NO to AV logo
Type
Political
Legal status
Campaign
Purpose
To oppose the UK switching to an Alternative Vote (AV) electoral system at the 2011 referendum
The Labour NotoAV campaign group was launched on 2 March 2011, with less fanfare than “Labour Yes”. Its campaign messages were similar to those of the main No campaign, with most links on its website directing to NotoAV. It seemed likely that Labour voters would decide the result of the referendum, and at that point the No campaign had more Labour members of parliament supporting it than the Yes campaign. However, opinion polls showed Labour supporters almost evenly divided.[18]
Campaign criticismedit
The NotoAV campaign attracted criticism in the run up to the referendum, due to its repeated claims that implementing AV would be expensive, due to the necessity of installing electronic voting machines. The claim was denied, both by the opposing campaign and the Electoral Commission and Political Studies Association.[19] In April 2011, cabinet minister Chris Huhne threatened legal action over alleged untruths disseminated by Conservatives opposed to the alternative vote system.[20]
At a Cabinet meeting on 2 May, Huhne was strongly critical of Conservative colleagues about the No2AV campaign material, in particular targeting a key 'No' leaflet showing a newborn baby with the slogan "She needs a maternity unit, not an alternative voting system". However, it was then revealed that this had been developed by Dan Hodges, a Labour Party campaigner working for NOtoAV.[21]
On the day of the referendum, it was reported in the New Statesman that David Blunkett had admitted that the claim that introducing the AV system would be more expensive had been exaggerated.[22]
Campaign fundingedit
In May 2011, three days before the referendum vote, The Guardian newspaper released an analysis of the accounts of donations to the campaign, showing that it been funded almost exclusively by Conservative Party donors. 42 of the 53 named donors to the NoToAV campaign were Conservative Party donors, having given between them £18.4 million to the Conservative Party since 2001.[23] Nine were not identifiable from official donor records, another source was identified as official funding from the Electoral Commission, and one was a Labour Party donor, the GMB union.[23] Among the donors to and prominent members of the Conservative Party were seven Conservative peers, including Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover, who had donated nearly £3m to the Conservative Party since 2005.[23]Jonathan Wood, who was the biggest shareholder in Northern Rock bank when it collapsed in 2007 and later tried to sue the then Labour government over its handling of the bank's nationalization, and Lord Fink, the Conservative Party's co-treasurer, British fund manager and former CEO and deputy chairman of the Man Group plc, have both donated £75,000 between them to the campaign in 2011.[23] Stockbroking and corporate finance group Shore Capital donated £25,000, hedge fund Odey Asset Management Group, founded by Crispin Odey in 1991, donated £20,000; Lord Wolfson, chairman of the clothing chain Next plc gave £25,000; John Nash, co-founder of private equity firm Sovereign Capital and chairman of the healthcare company Care UK, donated £25,000.[23] The figures obtained by the Guardian do not include donations received by the NoToAV campaign prior to the passing of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 by Parliament in February 2011.[23]
^"Vote 2011: UK rejects alternative vote". BBC News. 7 May 2011.
^. Electoral Commission. 5 May 2011. Archived from the original on 21 November 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
^. Conservative Party. Archived from the original on 16 April 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
^ abHélène Mulholland; Patrick Wintour (16 March 2011). "Ed Miliband faces AV battle as MPs and peers back No vote". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
^Labour NOtoAV. . Labour No2AV. Archived from the original on 14 December 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
^ ab"Labour Ex-Ministers To Fight Voting Reform". Sky News. 26 November 2010. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
^ abc"NI parties divided over Alternative Vote referendum". BBC News. 13 April 2011.
^ ab"AV referendum: Where parties stand". BBC News. 26 April 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
^. Sky News. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
^"Historians against AV". Conservatives Party. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
^"Ann Widdecombe says 'NO' to AV". Official NO2AV. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2011 – via YouTube.
^"David Owen: I support a PR system, but I will be voting 'no' in the AV referendum". The Independent. 13 March 2011. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022.
^Mulholland, Helene (11 March 2011). "Lord Owen backs group opposed to AV". The Guardian.
^"Robert Winston at the launch of the No to AV campaign - video". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. 15 February 2011.
^. NoToAV. Archived from the original on 26 April 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
^ abc"AV: The 'No Campaign' in quotes". Daily Telegraph. 4 May 2011. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
^. The Daily Telegraph. London. 2 June 2013. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013.
^Mark Ferguson, Labour NotoAV launches, 2 March 2011, labourlist.org
^(PDF). Political Studies Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
^"AV campaign rows causing coalition conflict, says Huhne". BBC News. 24 April 2011.
^""No campaign used made-up figures", says David Blunkett". New Statesman. 5 May 2001.
^ abcdefCurtis, Polly; Kollewe, Julia (2 May 2011). "No to AV campaign neutrality under spotlight over Tory party funding". The Guardian.
May 06, 2024
notoav, political, campaign, united, kingdom, whose, purpose, persuade, public, vote, against, alternative, vote, referendum, 2011, opposition, switching, successful, with, vote, switching, receiving, votes, cast, 2011, referendum, avthe, logotypepoliticallega. NOtoAV was a political campaign in the United Kingdom whose purpose was to persuade the public to vote against the Alternative Vote AV in the referendum on 5 May 2011 The opposition to switching to AV was successful with the No vote to switching to AV receiving 67 9 of votes cast in the 2011 referendum 1 2 NO to AVThe NO to AV logoTypePoliticalLegal statusCampaignPurposeTo oppose the UK switching to an Alternative Vote AV electoral system at the 2011 referendumHeadquartersLondonRegion servedUnited KingdomOfficial languageEnglishPresidentMargaret BeckettWebsiteNo to AV Archived Contents 1 Party positions 1 1 Parties in the House of Commons 1 2 Others 2 Individuals supporting NOtoAV 3 Labour NotoAV 4 Campaign criticism 5 Campaign funding 6 See also 7 ReferencesParty positions editParties in the House of Commons edit Conservative Party 3 Many Labour Party members Although party leader Ed Miliband supported a Yes vote over 200 Labour MPs and Peers supported the No campaign 4 5 Among the prominent Labour Party members against AV were Margaret Beckett acting as President of the NOtoAV campaign 6 Caroline Flint David Blunkett Lord Reid of Cardowan John Prescott and Lord Falconer of Thoroton 6 Democratic Unionist Party DUP 7 Others edit Ulster Unionist Party 7 British National Party 8 Respect Party 8 Traditional Unionist Voice 7 Communist Party of Britain 4 Individuals supporting NOtoAV edit29 historians including David Starkey Antony Beevor Niall Ferguson and Alison Weir stated in a letter to The Times that they back the NOtoAV campagain 9 10 Ann Widdecombe 11 Lord Owen 12 13 Robert Winston 14 Ross Kemp 15 David Gower 16 Darren Gough 16 James Cracknell 17 Sir Frank Williams 16 Labour NotoAV editThe Labour NotoAV campaign group was launched on 2 March 2011 with less fanfare than Labour Yes Its campaign messages were similar to those of the main No campaign with most links on its website directing to NotoAV It seemed likely that Labour voters would decide the result of the referendum and at that point the No campaign had more Labour members of parliament supporting it than the Yes campaign However opinion polls showed Labour supporters almost evenly divided 18 Campaign criticism editThe NotoAV campaign attracted criticism in the run up to the referendum due to its repeated claims that implementing AV would be expensive due to the necessity of installing electronic voting machines The claim was denied both by the opposing campaign and the Electoral Commission and Political Studies Association 19 In April 2011 cabinet minister Chris Huhne threatened legal action over alleged untruths disseminated by Conservatives opposed to the alternative vote system 20 At a Cabinet meeting on 2 May Huhne was strongly critical of Conservative colleagues about the No2AV campaign material in particular targeting a key No leaflet showing a newborn baby with the slogan She needs a maternity unit not an alternative voting system However it was then revealed that this had been developed by Dan Hodges a Labour Party campaigner working for NOtoAV 21 On the day of the referendum it was reported in the New Statesman that David Blunkett had admitted that the claim that introducing the AV system would be more expensive had been exaggerated 22 Campaign funding editIn May 2011 three days before the referendum vote The Guardian newspaper released an analysis of the accounts of donations to the campaign showing that it been funded almost exclusively by Conservative Party donors 42 of the 53 named donors to the NoToAV campaign were Conservative Party donors having given between them 18 4 million to the Conservative Party since 2001 23 Nine were not identifiable from official donor records another source was identified as official funding from the Electoral Commission and one was a Labour Party donor the GMB union 23 Among the donors to and prominent members of the Conservative Party were seven Conservative peers including Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover who had donated nearly 3m to the Conservative Party since 2005 23 Jonathan Wood who was the biggest shareholder in Northern Rock bank when it collapsed in 2007 and later tried to sue the then Labour government over its handling of the bank s nationalization and Lord Fink the Conservative Party s co treasurer British fund manager and former CEO and deputy chairman of the Man Group plc have both donated 75 000 between them to the campaign in 2011 23 Stockbroking and corporate finance group Shore Capital donated 25 000 hedge fund Odey Asset Management Group founded by Crispin Odey in 1991 donated 20 000 Lord Wolfson chairman of the clothing chain Next plc gave 25 000 John Nash co founder of private equity firm Sovereign Capital and chairman of the healthcare company Care UK donated 25 000 23 The figures obtained by the Guardian do not include donations received by the NoToAV campaign prior to the passing of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 by Parliament in February 2011 23 See also editYES To Fairer Votes the opposing campaign groupReferences edit Vote 2011 UK rejects alternative vote BBC News 7 May 2011 At present the UK uses the first past the post system to elect MPs to the House of Commons Should the alternative vote system be used instead Electoral Commission 5 May 2011 Archived from the original on 21 November 2011 Retrieved 7 December 2011 Campaigns No to AV Conservative Party Archived from the original on 16 April 2011 Retrieved 4 April 2011 a b Helene Mulholland Patrick Wintour 16 March 2011 Ed Miliband faces AV battle as MPs and peers back No vote The Guardian Guardian News and Media Retrieved 4 April 2011 Labour NOtoAV Labour MPs and Peers say NO to AV Labour No2AV Archived from the original on 14 December 2011 Retrieved 7 December 2011 a b Labour Ex Ministers To Fight Voting Reform Sky News 26 November 2010 Archived from the original on 12 July 2012 Retrieved 3 May 2011 a b c NI parties divided over Alternative Vote referendum BBC News 13 April 2011 a b AV referendum Where parties stand BBC News 26 April 2011 Retrieved 26 April 2011 Historians AV Would Undermine Democracy Sky News Archived from the original on 22 May 2011 Retrieved 4 May 2011 Historians against AV Conservatives Party 11 March 2011 Retrieved 7 December 2011 Ann Widdecombe says NO to AV Official NO2AV 11 April 2011 Retrieved 7 December 2011 via YouTube David Owen I support a PR system but I will be voting no in the AV referendum The Independent 13 March 2011 Archived from the original on 18 June 2022 Mulholland Helene 11 March 2011 Lord Owen backs group opposed to AV The Guardian Robert Winston at the launch of the No to AV campaign video The Guardian Guardian News and Media 15 February 2011 More senior Labour figures to vote NO to AV NoToAV Archived from the original on 26 April 2011 Retrieved 4 May 2011 a b c AV The No Campaign in quotes Daily Telegraph 4 May 2011 ISSN 0307 1235 Retrieved 17 May 2020 James Cracknell Why I m standing as an MEP The Daily Telegraph London 2 June 2013 Archived from the original on 3 June 2013 Mark Ferguson Labour NotoAV launches 2 March 2011 labourlist org TheAlternativeVoteBriefingPaper PDF Political Studies Association Archived from the original PDF on 30 March 2011 Retrieved 20 January 2012 AV campaign rows causing coalition conflict says Huhne BBC News 24 April 2011 The real father of the Sick Baby posters by Joe Murphy Evening Standard 4 May 2011 No campaign used made up figures says David Blunkett New Statesman 5 May 2001 a b c d e f Curtis Polly Kollewe Julia 2 May 2011 No to AV campaign neutrality under spotlight over Tory party funding The Guardian Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title NOtoAV amp oldid 1190737613, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
