GORDON BROWN PROMISES REFERENDUM ON INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING

Fair Vote - British prime minister Gordon Brown in his closing speech to the Labor Party annual conference last month made a full-fledged commitment to a national referendum on instant runoff voting (called "the alternative vote" in the United Kingdom) for future elections to the House of Commons.

Brown told journalists after his speech that he would campaign "passionately" for the change, saying: "The one thing this political crisis has shown is that if an MP has more than 50 per cent of the voters, the majority of voters supporting him or her, then I think that is a better position to be in. And the alternative vote system allows a member to be elected with the votes of second preferences allowing that person to have more than 50 per cent of the vote. That is something, you could see from the reaction in the Labor party, that most people are prepared to support." Most Labor Party leaders have publicly backed IRV this year.

With several British parties contesting elections, the plurality voting system today often results in non-majority winners. Such results are in a sharp contrast to Australia's house of representatives elections with IRV in 2007, where an average of seven candidates contested seats (with no fewer than four in any seat), but every election was won with a majority of 50% plus one of votes.

Despite Brown's general unpopularity, voters overwhelmingly liked his proposal of a referendum by a three-to-one margin, according to a YouGov opinion poll for Sky News taken after his speech. Of those with an opinion on IRV compared to plurality, 61% supported IRV. Overall, only 26% were sure they wanted to stick with plurality voting.

Instant runoff voting already is used for major elections in countries like Ireland (presidential elections), Australia (electing the house of representatives), Canada (choosing party leaders), New Zealand (electing the mayor of its capital city Wellington) and the United Kingdom (electing the mayor of London.