At the second of the public debates on the AV referendum in Farnham on Friday, the audience voted overwhelming against a move to the Alternative Vote system in a straw poll at the end of the debate. Local MP Jeremy Hunt took part in a debate against Brian Wichmann, chairman of the Surrey Yes to Fairer Votes campaign with Farnham Town Clerk Iain Lynch chairing proceedings. After opening arguments from both sides the audience asked questions and gave comments on their own take on the referendum. The overwhelming consensus was that the Farnham audience did not want to change the voting system.
Jeremy said: “We had a good debate that benefited from Brian Wichmann's expert knowledge. The real benefit is people are beginning to ask what we could lose as well as what we could gain from changing the voting system. Do we really want to make it harder to throw out an unpopular government? Do we want to make it easier for politicians to wriggle out of their election promises? As the penny drops people are realising that although the present system is not perfect, it does at least avoid a number of pitfalls."
There is a final chance to hear both sides of the argument at a meeting in Haslemere next Thursday (28th April) at 7pm at the Georgian House Hotel.