2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Historical context
At the next general election in 2001, Labour's manifesto stated that the party would review the experience of the new systems (in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and the Jenkins report, to assess the possibility of changes to the Commons, which would still be subject to a referendum. Electoral reform in the Commons remained at a standstill, although in the Scottish Parliament, a coalition of Labour and the Liberal Democrats introduced STV for local elections in Scotland.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Pre-election
In February 2010, the Labour government (which had been in power since 1997) used its majority to pass an amendment to its Constitutional Reform Bill to include a referendum on the introduction of AV to be held in the next Parliament, citing a desire to restore trust in Parliament in the wake of the 2009 expenses scandal. A Liberal Democrat amendment to hold the referendum earlier, and on STV, was defeated by 476 votes to 69. There was insufficient time remaining in the term of that Parliament for the Bill to become law before Parliament was dissolved; and so the move was dismissed by several Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs as a political manoeuvre.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Pre-election
In the ensuing 2010 general election campaign, the Labour manifesto supported the introduction of AV via a referendum, to "ensure that every MP is supported by the majority of their constituents voting at each election". The Liberal Democrats argued for proportional representation, preferably by single transferable vote, and the Conservatives argued for the retention of FPTP. Both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats proposed reducing the number of MPs, while the Conservative Party argued for more equal sized constituencies.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Election outcome to Queen's Speech
The 2010 UK general election held on 6 May resulted in a hung parliament, the first since 1974, leading to a period of negotiations. Honouring a pre-election pledge, the Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg entered into negotiations with the Conservatives as the party who had won most votes and most seats. William Hague offered the Liberal Democrats a referendum on the alternative vote as part of a "final offer" in the Conservatives' negotiations for a proposed "full and proper" coalition between the two parties.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Election outcome to Queen's Speech
Hague and Conservative leader David Cameron said that this was in response to Labour offering the Liberal Democrats the alternative vote without a referendum, although it later emerged that Labour had not made such an offer. Negotiations between the Liberal Democrats and Labour quickly ended. On 11 May 2010, Prime Minister Gordon Brown stepped down, followed by the establishment of a full coalition government between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. David Cameron became Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg became Deputy Prime Minister.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Election outcome to Queen's Speech
The initial Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement, dated 11 May 2010, detailed the issues which had been agreed between the two parties before they committed to entering into coalition. On the issue of an electoral reform referendum, it stated:


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Election outcome to Queen's Speech
The parties will bring forward a Referendum Bill on electoral reform, which includes provision for the introduction of the Alternative Vote in the event of a positive result in the referendum, as well as for the creation of fewer and more equal sized constituencies. Both parties will whip their Parliamentary Parties in both Houses to support a simple majority referendum on the Alternative Vote, without prejudice to the positions parties will take during such a referendum.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Election outcome to Queen's Speech
Following the agreement between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, with the new coalition government now formed, a commitment to the referendum was included in the coalition government's Queen's Speech on 25 May 2010 as the Parliamentary Reform Bill, although with no date set for the referendum.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Election outcome to Queen's Speech
The coalition agreement committed both parties in the government to "whip" their Parliamentary parties in both the House of Commons and House of Lords to support the bill, thereby ensuring that it could reasonably be expected to be passed into law due to the simple majority in the Commons of the combined Conservative – Liberal Democrat voting bloc. The Lords can only delay, rather than block, a Bill passed by the Commons.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Passage through Parliament
According to The Guardian, reporting after the Queen's Speech, unnamed pro-referendum Cabinet members were believed to want the referendum held on 5 May 2011, to coincide with elections to the Scottish parliament, the Welsh assembly and many English local councils. Nick Clegg's prior hope of a referendum as early as October 2010 was considered unrealistic due to the parliamentary programme announced in the speech.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Passage through Parliament
On 5 July 2010, Clegg announced the detailed plans for the Parliamentary Reform Bill in a statement to the House of Commons, as part of the wider package of voting and election reforms set out in the coalition agreement, including setting the referendum date as 5 May 2011.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Passage through Parliament
In addition to a referendum on AV, the reform bill also included the other coalition measures of reducing and resizing the Westminster parliamentary constituencies, introducing fixed-term parliaments and setting the date of the next general election as 7 May 2015, changing the voting threshold for early dissolution of parliament to 55%, and providing for the recall of MPs by their constituents.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Passage through Parliament
The plans to hold the vote on 5 May faced criticism from some Conservative MPs as distorting the result because turnout was predicted to be higher in those places where local elections were also held. It also faced criticism from Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs for the effects it would have on their devolved elections on the same day, while Clegg himself faced further criticism from Labour, and implied lessening support from Liberal Democrat MPs, for backing down on earlier Liberal Democrat positions on proportional representation.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Passage through Parliament
Clegg defended the date, stating the referendum question was simple and that it would save £17m in costs. Over 45 MPs, mostly Conservatives, signed a motion calling for the date to be moved. In September 2010, Ian Davidson MP, chairman of the Commons Scottish affairs select committee, stated after consultation with the Scottish Parliament that there was "unanimous" opposition among Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) to the referendum date, following the "chaos" of the combined 2007 Scottish parliament and council elections.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Passage through Parliament
On 22 July 2010, the proposal for fixed-term parliaments was put before parliament as the Fixed-term Parliaments Bill, while the proposals for the AV referendum, change in dissolution arrangements and equalising constituencies were put forward in the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill, which accordingly had three parts: Part 1, Voting system for parliamentary elections; Part 2, Parliamentary constituencies; and Part 3, Miscellaneous and general. The Bill contained the text of a proposed referendum question.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Passage through Parliament
Do you want the United Kingdom to adopt the "alternative vote" system instead of the current "first past the post" system for electing Members of Parliament to the House of Commons?


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Passage through Parliament
Ydych chi am i'r Deyrnas Unedig fabwysiadu'r system "bleidlais amgen" yn lle'r system "first past the post" presennol ar gyfer ethol Aelodau Seneddol i Dŷ'r Cyffredin?


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Passage through Parliament
permitting a simple YES / NO answer (to be marked with a single (X)).


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Passage through Parliament
This wording was criticised by the Electoral Commission, saying that "particularly those with lower levels of education or literacy, found the question hard work and did not understand it". The Electoral Commission recommended a changed wording to make the issue easier to understand, and the government subsequently amended the Bill to bring it into line with the Electoral Commission's recommendations.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Passage through Parliament
The Bill passed an interim vote in the Commons on 7 September 2010 by 328 votes to 269.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Passage through Parliament
An amendment proposed in the Lords by Lord Rooker (Independent) to require a minimum turn-out of 40% for the referendum to be valid was supported by Labour, a majority of cross-benchers and ten rebel Conservatives, and was passed by one vote. Labour's 2010 AV referendum proposal had not included such a threshold and they were criticised for seeking to impose one for this referendum, while the 2011 Welsh referendum, held under a Bill passed by Labour, also had no threshold (and would have failed if it had had one, as turnout in that referendum was only 35%). In the latter hours of debate, a "game" of parliamentary ping-pong saw the Commons overturning the threshold amendment before it was reimposed by the Lords, and then removed again.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, History, Passage through Parliament
After some compromises between the two Houses on amendments, the Bill was passed into law on 16 February 2011.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Legislation
The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 provides for the holding of the referendum, and the related changes had it led to the adoption of AV. Passing the bill into law was a necessary measure before the referendum could actually take place. It received Royal assent on 16 February 2011.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Legislation
An Act to make provision for a referendum on the voting system for parliamentary elections and to provide for parliamentary elections to be held under the alternative vote system if a majority of those voting in the referendum are in favour of that; to make provision about the number and size of parliamentary constituencies; and for connected purposes


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Legislation, Referendum question
Based on the coalition agreement, the referendum was a simple majority yes/no question as to whether to replace the current first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system used in general elections with the alternative vote (AV) system.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Legislation, Referendum question
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?


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Legislation, Referendum question
In Wales, the question on the ballot paper also appeared in Welsh:


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Legislation, Referendum question
Ar hyn o bryd, mae'r DU yn defnyddio'r system "y cyntaf i’r felin" i ethol ASau i Dŷ'r Cyffredin. A ddylid defnyddio’r system "pleidlais amgen" yn lle hynny?


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Legislation, Referendum question
permitting a simple YES / NO answer (to be marked with a single (X)).


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Administration
The referendum took place on 5 May 2011, coinciding with various United Kingdom local elections, the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, the 2011 Welsh Assembly election and the 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election. The deadline for voters in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to register to vote in the referendum was midnight on Thursday 14 April 2011, whilst voters in Scotland had until midnight on Friday 15 April 2011 to register. Anyone in the United Kingdom who qualified as an anonymous elector had until midnight on Tuesday 26 April 2011 to register. In the vote count, the referendum ballots in England, Scotland and Wales were counted after the various election ballots, from 4 pm on 6 May 2011. The referendum had no minimum threshold on the required turnout needed for the result to be valid.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Administration
Anyone on the electoral register and eligible to vote in a general election was entitled to vote in the referendum. This includes British citizens living outside the UK who were registered as overseas electors. In addition, Members of the House of Lords, who are not eligible to vote in a general election, were entitled to vote in the referendum, provided they were entitled to vote in local elections.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Coalition parties
The coalition partners campaigned on opposite sides, with the Liberal Democrats supporting AV and the Conservatives opposing it.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Coalition parties
Despite the Conservative Party's formal position, party members who were aligned to the Conservative Action for Electoral Reform, an internal party group in favour of electoral reform, campaigned in favour, while a BBC News report described "some Tory MPs" as being "relaxed" about a 'Yes' result. Some Conservatives campaigned in favour of AV, e.g. Andrew Boff AM; and Andrew Marshall, former head of the Conservative Group on Camden Council. The Conservative Party uses a system of successive ballots to elect its leader, which has been described as a "form of AV" (since the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated in each round), but unlike AV, the candidates are not ranked in order of preference during each ballot.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Other parties represented in the House of Commons
Labour elected a new leader after the 2010 general election and many of the leadership candidates supported AV, including winner Ed Miliband; however, Andy Burnham was critical of the referendum. Former Labour Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett was president of the No to AV campaign. Other supporters of the party also used the referendum to attack the coalition and voiced opposition to the bill currently providing for the referendum, on the grounds of the inclusion of boundary changes that are viewed as beneficial to the Conservative Party.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Other parties represented in the House of Commons
Plaid Cymru supported AV, but did not take an active role in the campaign, as it focused on separate Welsh votes on the same day. The Scottish National Party, while maintaining its longstanding support for PR-STV, also supported a 'Yes' vote in the referendum. Both of these parties opposed the planned referendum date, as they did not want it held at the same time as the 2011 Welsh Assembly elections and the 2011 Scottish Parliament elections respectively.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Other parties represented in the House of Commons
Among the Northern Irish parties, the Alliance Party and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) supported AV. SDLP leader Margaret Ritchie announced that her party would actively campaign in favour. Sinn Féin also supported a 'Yes' vote, but the Democratic Unionist Party supported a 'No' vote.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Other parties represented in the House of Commons
The Green Party of England and Wales voted in favour of joining the campaign for AV in the referendum at its September 2010 party conference. Many leading figures in the party supported the change as a step towards their preferred system, proportional representation. Previously, the party's leader and only MP, Caroline Lucas, had called for a referendum that included a choice of proportional representation. However, at the party's Conference, Deputy Leader Adrian Ramsay argued that "If you vote No in this referendum, nobody would know whether you were rejecting AV because you wanted genuine reform, or were simply opposing any reform."


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Minor parties
The UK Independence Party's National Executive Committee formally announced that it would be supporting Alternative Vote, although it would prefer a proportional system. An e-mail was sent to members informing them that they might vote against AV, but were not allowed to campaign.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Minor parties
The British National Party supported proportional representation and has criticised AV as not being proportional. It supported a 'No' vote.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Minor parties
The Respect Party also supported proportional representation and campaigned against AV. Rob Hoveman, on behalf of Tower Hamlets Respect, wrote to the East London Advertiser on 24 February 2011 urging a 'No' vote on the grounds that the AV system created an even greater imbalance between votes and seats, and urging a proportional system instead.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Minor parties
The Scottish Green Party also supported AV, although it prefers the adoption of STV for all elections.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Minor parties
The Ulster Unionist Party and Traditional Unionist Voice supported a 'No' vote. The Green Party in Northern Ireland also opposed the change to AV, as they viewed it as a betrayal of proportional representation.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Minor parties
The English Democrats, the Christian Peoples Alliance and the Christian Party all supported AV. Pirate Party UK endorsed a 'Yes' vote, with over 90% of members expressing support for AV.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Minor parties
The Liberal Party agreed to support the 'Yes' campaign, seeing AV as "a potential 'stepping stone' to further reform" and STV.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Minor parties
Mebyon Kernow, the Cornish nationalist party, favoured proportional representation and was disappointed that the referendum did not give voters that option. However, leader Dick Cole announced on 1 April 2011 that Mebyon Kernow would be supporting the 'Yes' campaign.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Minor parties
The United Kingdom Libertarian Party favoured AV as a slight improvement on first-past-the-post.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Minor parties
The Socialist Party of Great Britain adopted a neutral position, arguing "what matters more is what we use our votes for" in the context of class struggle.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Minor parties
The Socialist Party opposed AV, pointing out that it is not more proportional than First Past the Post.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Minor parties
The Alliance for Workers' Liberty opposed AV, arguing that it did not offer progress on the party's main democratic demands.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Politicians
Prime Minister David Cameron of the Conservative Party and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats made speeches backing the 'No' and 'Yes' campaigns respectively on the same day, but were thereafter not expected to take much part in the campaigns, although both were active since. Cameron described AV as "undemocratic, obscure, unfair and crazy". He was praised for his intervention by back-bench Conservative MPs.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Politicians
Labour leader Ed Miliband said he would take an active part in the 'Yes' campaign, while Wales's First Minister and Welsh Labour Leader Carwyn Jones and Scottish Labour Leader Iain Gray both also supported AV. Also supporting the 'Yes' campaign were over 50 Labour MPs including Alan Johnson, Peter Hain, Hilary Benn, John Denham, Liam Byrne, Sadiq Khan, Tessa Jowell, Ben Bradshaw, Douglas Alexander, Alistair Darling, Diane Abbott and Debbie Abrahams.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Politicians
Labour peers supporting the 'Yes' campaign include Lord Mandelson, Oona King, Raymond Plant (chair of Labour's 1993 working group on electoral reform), Andrew Adonis, Anthony Giddens, former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, former deputy leader Roy Hattersley and Glenys Kinnock, while further Labour figures supporting AV included former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, Michael Cashman MEP, Tony Benn, and former Labour council candidate and wife of the Speaker Sally Bercow.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Politicians
The Liberal Democrats supported a 'Yes' vote and many individual Liberal Democrat politicians were active in the 'Yes' campaign. The SNP leader, Alex Salmond, supported a 'Yes' vote. UKIP supported a 'Yes' vote and their principal spokesmen on the campaign were William Dartmouth MEP and party leader, Nigel Farage MEP.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Politicians
Supporting the 'No' campaign were both senior Conservative (including William Hague, Kenneth Clarke, George Osborne, Theresa May, Philip Hammond, Steven Norris and Baroness Warsi) and Labour politicians (including John Prescott, Margaret Beckett (president of the No to AV campaign), David Blunkett, John Reid, Tony Lloyd, John Healey, Caroline Flint, Hazel Blears, Beverley Hughes, Paul Boateng, John Hutton and Lord Falconer).


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Politicians
The Conservative Party announced that seven MPs (Conor Burns, George Eustice, Sam Gyimah, Kwasi Kwarteng, Charlotte Leslie, Priti Patel, Chris Skidmore) and two former candidates (Chris Philp and Maggie Throup, later elected as MPs) would act as party spokespersons in the 'No' campaign. Overall, most Labour MPs supported the 'No' campaign rather than the 'Yes' campaign, with other notable opponents of AV including Paul Goggins, Ann Clwyd, Sir Gerald Kaufman, Austin Mitchell, Margaret Hodge, Lindsay Hoyle, Jim Fitzpatrick, Dennis Skinner and Keith Vaz. Also supporting a 'No' vote were crossbencher and former SDP leader Lord Owen, who supported the No to AV But Yes to PR campaign.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Politicians
Conservative politician Michael Gove was initially mistakenly announced by the No to AV campaign as opposing AV, but his advisers stated that he had never been involved in the campaign and had not yet made up his mind. Over five Labour MPs announced as opposing AV were also found to have been wrongly included: for example, Alun Michael supported a 'Yes' vote, while Meg Hillier did not lend her name to either campaign.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Political parties, Politicians
Some Conservative politicians did support AV, including John Strafford, a former member of the Conservative Party's national executive, who chaired the Conservative campaign in favour of a 'Yes' vote.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Other organisations, AV campaigning organisations
Two campaign groups were established in response to the proposed referendum, one on each side of the debate. NOtoAV was established to campaign against the change to the alternative vote and YES! To Fairer Votes was established to campaign in favour.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Other organisations, Political reform groups
Take Back Parliament, the Electoral Reform Society, Make My Vote Count, and Unlock Democracy all campaigned in favour of the change to AV.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Other organisations, Trade unions
The GMB Union opposes the change to AV. It provided "substantial" sums of money to the 'No' campaign and marshalled its members to vote 'No'. Unions generally supported the 'No' campaign, with only Billy Hayes, general secretary of the Communication Workers' Union, supporting AV.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Other organisations, Think tanks
Compass supported the change to the AV and urged the Labour Party to do so too. It prefers a switch to a more proportional system, but viewed AV as superior to FPTP. ResPublica supported the change to AV and urged the Conservative Party to do so too. Policy Exchange opposed the change to AV. Ekklesia supported the change to AV.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Other organisations, Think tanks
A report by the Institute for Public Policy Research in January 2011 was very critical of FPTP's flaws, while a report in April 2011 came down in support of AV over FPTP. However, the IPPR also previously called for a wider choice in the referendum and favours Alternative Vote Plus over FPTP or AV.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Other organisations, Academics
A number of academics entered the debate, either in mainstream media or through blogs, social networking, or academic publication.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Other organisations, Academics
Those in favour of AV included Timothy Gowers (Cambridge), David Held (LSE), Patrick Dunleavy (LSE), and Helen Margetts (Oxford), Thom Brooks (Newcastle University), Alastair McMillan (Sheffield), and Ben Saunders (Stirling).


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Other organisations, Academics
Dan Felsenthal (LSE) criticised AV as "deeply flawed", though he also described it as "a minor improvement on the current first-past-the-post system".


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Other organisations, Academics
David S. Moon (Sheffield) argued that AV would be worse than FPTP, though he regards both as flawed and supports a move to proportional representation.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Other organisations, Academics
At a Voting Power in Practice workshop, held at the Chateau du Baffy, in France from 30 July to 2 August 2010, 22 voting theory specialists voted to select the "best voting procedure" to elect a candidate from a selection of three or more. First past the post received no votes, compared to 10 for AV, although another system, Approval Voting (not on offer in the referendum), received 15 votes.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Other organisations, Academics
On 11 March 29 historians, including Niall Ferguson, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Andrew Roberts and David Starkey, wrote to the Times expressing opposition to the adoption of the Alternative Vote.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Other organisations, Other organisations
Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth support the Yes! To Fairer Votes campaign, as do the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, Operation Black Vote, the New Economics Foundation, 38 Degrees and bassac. Educational trust The Constitution Society has also worked to increase public awareness of the issues involved in the debate.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Media
The Guardian, The Independent, the Daily Mirror, and the Financial Times supported the change to AV. The Daily Mail, The Times, the Daily Express and The Daily Telegraph opposed AV. The Economist supported a 'No' vote, but did want to see reform of the current electoral system. Socialist daily newspaper the Morning Star urged a 'No' vote, on the basis that AV would be no more fair than FPTP; the paper argued for single transferable vote instead.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Media, Campaigners and celebrities
Supporting the 'Yes' campaign were campaigner and musician Billy Bragg; broadcaster and Labour peer Melvyn Bragg; campaigner and actress Joanna Lumley; Labour supporter and broadcaster Tony Robinson; designer and ethical fashion campaigner Amisha Ghadiali; Annette Lawson, chairwoman of the national alliance of women's organisations; and Simon Woolley, director and co-founder of Operation Black Vote. AV was also supported by Kevin Maguire, associate editor of the Daily Mirror newspaper, and journalist Polly Toynbee.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Media, Campaigners and celebrities
Celebrities supporting a 'Yes' vote included comedian David Mitchell, comedian and actor Eddie Izzard, author Naomi Alderman, playwright Bonnie Greer, comedian Francesca Martinez, actress Helena Bonham Carter, Oscar award-winning actor Colin Firth, actor and Liberal Democrat supporter John Cleese, comedian Stephen Fry, actor Art Malik, John O'Farrell, actor Richard Wilson, editor and writer Rowan Davies, broadcaster Greg Dyke, co-founder of the Ministry of Sound James Palumbo, actor and comedian David Schneider, Kriss Akabusi, Chris Addison, Josie Long, Benjamin Zephaniah and Honor Blackman. Comedian and actor Steve Coogan also supported a 'Yes' vote.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Media, Campaigners and celebrities
Supporting a 'No' vote were television presenter Esther Rantzen, scientist and Labour peer Lord Winston; nightclub impresario Peter Stringfellow, cricketers David Gower and Darren Gough, Olympic rower James Cracknell and F1 boss Sir Frank Williams. Actor and television presenter Ross Kemp also backed the 'No' campaign.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Media, Religious figures
Also supporting the 'Yes' campaign were several Church of England bishops: Michael Langrish, Bishop of Exeter; Colin Buchanan, former area Bishop of Woolwich; Alan Smith, Bishop of St Albans; John Packer, Bishop of Ripon and Leeds; Martyn Jarrett, Bishop of Beverley; Nigel Stock, Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich; Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham; Michael Perham, Bishop of Gloucester; Peter Dawes, former Bishop of Derby; and David Atkinson, former Bishop of Thetford.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Media, Religious figures
Jonathan Bartley (founder and co-director of the Ekklesia religious thinktank) supported the referendum.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Others
Anti -corruption campaigner, former broadcaster and independent MP, Martin Bell supported AV.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign positions, Others
A group of leading businesswomen and campaigners published a letter in The Guardian backing a 'Yes' vote on 28 April 2011, with signatories including Alexandra Shulman (editor of Vogue), illustrator Daisy de Villenueve, writer Gillian Slovo, human rights lawyer Helena Kennedy, Hilary Wainwright (editor of Red Pepper), journalist Isabel Hilton, Jacqueline Rose, writer Jay Griffiths, broadcaster Joan Bakewell, rabbi Julia Neuberger, fashion designer Patsy Puttnam, journalist Polly Toynbee, Janet Todd (President of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge), Chair of Young Labour Susan Nash, activist Tamsin Omond, financial consultant Tessa Tennant, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, gynaecologist/campaigner Wendy Savage and journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign donors and spending
By around the beginning of May, the 'Yes' campaign had spent £3.4 million compared to £2.6 million by the 'No' campaign.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign donors and spending
The 'Yes' campaign revealed that it had raised £2 million (as of 15 February 2011), with 95% coming from two donors, the Electoral Reform Society and the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust. The 'Yes' campaign also received five-figure sums from Alan Parker, who is close to both Gordon Brown and David Cameron, and Paul Marshall, a donor to the Liberal Democrats.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign donors and spending
There were initially accusations in the press that the 'No' campaign was refusing to publish details of their donors and the 'Yes' campaign was quicker than the 'No' campaign in doing this, but subsequently said on 18 February 2011 they would do so before the referendum date. However, they had not done so by 28 March 2011 when the 'Yes' campaign published an updated list of all donors of over £7,500, and launched a petition calling on the 'No' campaign to do the same.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign donors and spending
The 'No' campaign released a list of donors on 9 April 2011, which included several major donors to the Conservative Party, including Lord (John) Sainsbury, Michael Farmer, Lord Harris, Lord Fink and Lord Edmiston. In total, the 'No' campaign had raised by that date £1.8m in donations of over the declarable limit of £7,500 from 41 donors, with the largest being from billionaire Peter Cruddas, founder of the CMC spread betting firm, who gave £400,000.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign donors and spending
The Guardian newspaper identified 42 of the 53 named donors to the 'No' campaign as donors to the Conservative Party, while one, the GMB union, is a donor to the Labour Party, and nine were not identified in official donor records. The remaining donor is official funding from the electoral commission. The donors include seven Conservative peers. They quote Margaret Beckett, a leading Labour 'No' campaigner, as saying this situation is a "necessary evil".


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign donors and spending
While the 'Yes' campaign released figures of all donations over the declarable limit after it was set up, the 'No' campaign did not declare any donations prior to the referendum bill receiving Royal Assent, for it was not required to do under the relevant regulations. David Blunkett, a 'No' campaigner, called on the 'No' campaign to do so.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign
The initial part of the campaign was overshadowed by continuing Parliamentary battles over the introducing Bill, which had threatened to delay the referendum date. Launching their campaign, supporters of AV argued that the need for candidates to campaign for later preferences would encourage candidates to appeal to a broader cross-section of the electorate. They also pointed out the declining number of people voting for the main two parties in the UK over recent decades.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Party politics
The 'Yes' campaign sought to present its campaign as being on behalf of members of the public. The 'No' campaign sought to play on the unpopularity of the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, and to present the referendum as an opportunity to punish Clegg at the polls. It also claimed that Clegg described AV as "a miserable little compromise" before the 2010 general election. The fuller quote says: "I am not going to settle for a miserable little compromise thrashed out by the Labour Party." However, the Conservatives rejected the possibility of introducing PR in coalition negotiations, leading to a referendum in which the choice was between FPTP and AV.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Party politics
While officially supporting a 'No' vote, the Conservative Party leadership reportedly initially held back on campaigning and advised major Conservative Party donors not to donate to the 'No' campaign. However, this position changed in January 2011 and the leadership became more involved, with requests to donors to fund the 'No' campaign and staff and party headquarters becoming directly involved in campaigning.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Party politics
In mid-February, the prime minister, David Cameron, and the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, made opposing speeches advocating a 'No' and 'Yes' result respectively. Clegg argued that AV would mean "fairer votes" and that FPTP produced more safe seats, and linked these to the MPs' expenses scandal. He said that AV would encourage politicians to work to appeal to more of the electorate rather than just their core supporters. He stated that "I think this [AV] is a natural evolution which reflects the fact that politics is no longer now, as it was 50 years ago when everybody was very happy to plump for the blue corner or the red corner, people want more choice now."


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Party politics
Cameron, in contrast, argued that FPTP delivers more accountability, and claimed it reduces the number of hung parliaments. He insisted that "when it comes to our democracy, Britain shouldn't have to settle for anyone's second choice." He also claimed, on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on 3 May 2011, that AV would undermine the fundamental principle of "one person, one vote". Despite the coalition parties being on different sides in the campaign, Cameron insisted that "whatever the result", the coalition would continue.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Party politics
Caroline Lucas, head of the Green Party of England and Wales said in support of AV that "they can vote for what they believe in and I think that will be very liberating for a lot of people".


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Row over possible costs
The 'No' campaign launched with a claim that choosing AV would cost £250 million. However, this figure was criticised on several grounds. For example, it included an estimated £82 million for holding the referendum, that would have applied whatever the referendum outcome, and failed to take into account costs saved from holding the referendum at the same time as other elections.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Row over possible costs
The £250 million figure also included £130 million for the cost of electronic voting systems, although these were not used by the largest country then using AV, Australia, and there were no plans to use such machines if AV were introduced in the UK. (The referendum actually cost about £75 million, below estimates made at the time, according to the Electoral Commission.)


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Row over possible costs
Labour MP Douglas Alexander described the figure claimed as a "lie". A Channel 4 News Fact Check concluded that the specific claim that AV would require electronic counting machines, the main component of the £250 million figure, was "fiction". Alan Renwick likewise dismissed the suggestion that voting machines would be required, saying "The No camp [...] say that AV would require expensive voting machines. [ ...] that is just plain false."


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Row over possible costs
The Treasury stated that the adoption of AV would not lead to any spending cuts. Danny Alexander, the Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury and a supporter of AV himself, stated in a leaked letter that, "The Government has no plans to reopen departmental spending review settlements as a consequence of a 'Yes' vote in the referendum on AV." He also told the Independent on Sunday newspaper: "I don't expect to see any increase in the cost of holding a general election if the British people vote yes. There's no good reason to believe that even under a new voting system an election would need to be more expensive."


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Row over possible costs
The 'No' campaign launched a series of advertisements in regional newspapers based on the £250 million figure. The 'Yes' campaign described these as "shameful", a "smear" and "lies", and complained to the Electoral Commission and Advertising Standards Authority, both of whom stated that they did not have powers to regulate individual adverts in the campaign.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Row over possible costs
On 5 May, David Blunkett, one of the Labour Party former-government ministers who had supported the 'No' campaign, admitted that the £250 million figure used by the 'No' campaign had been fabricated, and that the 'No' campaign had knowingly lied about the figure and other claims during the campaign.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Coalition and minority governments
Supporters of a 'No' vote claimed that AV would lead to more coalition governments, but models of recent UK elections suggest that this may not be the case, The BBC had modelled the possible effect of AV on every general election since 1983 and concluded that the overall result would not have changed in any of them. Paddy Ashdown pointed out that in the twentieth century Australia had fewer hung Parliaments under AV than the UK had under FPTP. The report of the Independent Commission on the Voting System, issued in 1998, stated that "There is not the slightest reason to think that AV would reduce the stability of government; it might indeed lead to larger parliamentary majorities."


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Coalition and minority governments
During the referendum campaign a BBC Newsnight special on the referendum suggested that AV would lead to a small increase in the number of hung results and Alan Renwick, author of A Citizen's Guide To Electoral Reform, wrote in Total Politics magazine that "AV makes election results more volatile, exaggerating landslides on the one hand and making coalitions more common on the other." However, Dennis Leech, a professor at Warwick University, has argued that coalitions will not be any more likely under AV. Vernon Bogdanor stated that:


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Coalition and minority governments
AV would probably make little difference in most general elections. ... By helping the Lib Dems – the second choice of many voters – AV makes hung parliaments more likely. But the effect would probably not be very great. AV would not have transformed the result in any of the twelve postwar elections that yielded large working majorities. But the parliaments of 1951 and 1992 might have been hung, and AV might have given Labour a working majority in the indecisive elections of 1950, 1964, and February and October 1974.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Coalition and minority governments
The Channel 4 News FactCheck summarised the position as follows:


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Coalition and minority governments
AV would not lead to permanent hung parliaments and coalition governments. The best academic research we have suggests that AV wouldn't make big landslides a thing of the past, and nor would it make hung Parliaments more likely ... hung parliaments are indeed more likely in the future. But that will be the case under both AV and FPTP.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, "One person, one vote"
Under AV each voters casts a "single transferable vote". The 'No' campaign argued that some people would get multiple votes under AV, and that the system was therefore contrary to the principle of "one person, one vote" (which they adopted as a slogan of their campaign). This argument was heavily criticised by Ipsos MORI, Channel Four News Fact Check, and many academic commentators. The FullFact site stated "some of these claims have trod a fine line between accuracy and error". The Ipsos MORI Guide to AV stated that:


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, "One person, one vote"
this system [AV] does not involve some people getting more votes than others. Every voter gets just one vote, which is counted several times. Your second preference is not a second vote, it is an instruction about how you want your (only) vote to be used if it would be wasted because your first choice candidate can't win. Each vote is counted in each round of voting


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Safe seats
The 'Yes' campaign argued that AV would be fairer, and that it would reduce or even eliminate 'safe seats', making MPs work harder. This was contested by the 'No' campaign, again with reference to Australia. This view was supported by Alan Renwick, who stated that "AV wouldn't significantly change the number of safe seats. Even the claim that AV would make a big dent in the number of safe seats goes further than the facts support."


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Safe seats
However, the New Economics Foundation think-tank, which supported a 'Yes' vote, published modelling showing that with the introduction of AV the number of very marginal seats would have increased from 81 to 125, and the number of very safe seats would decrease from 331 to 271, although there would also have been an increase in the number of quite safe seats. The Foundation found that, with FPTP, the average number of seats changing hands per election was 13% and this could rise to 16% under AV, modestly increasing voter power overall, but concluded "that neither system is very good at translating votes into electoral power".


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Majority support for MPs
The 'Yes' campaign argued that AV would ensure that every MP was supported by an overall majority, more than 50% of the voters. However, in its Guide to AV, Ipsos MORI stated "this is not really true, but maybe it's a defensible simplification". AV ensures that a candidate is elected with the support of at least 50% of voters who have expressed a preference between the final two candidates in the contest. If some voters have indicated that they are indifferent between the final two, by not ranking either of them on the ballot paper, then the winner may be elected with the support of fewer than 50% of all votes cast.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Majority support for MPs
Rawlings and Thrasher stated that "the claims that AV will guarantee local majority support can only be validated if every voter is compelled or chooses to cast a full range of preferences. There seems little prospect of that happening in a general election conducted under AV in the UK." The Channel 4 News FactCheck stated that it "is right that candidates will have to aim for 50% of votes, though it is true that some candidates will end up being elected on fewer than 50% of all the votes cast".


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Majority support for MPs
In the most recent general election, roughly two-thirds of MPs had been elected without an overall majority. Rawlings and Thrasher predicted that "more than four out of ten" MPs would still not have majority support under AV, while Ipsos MORI stated "It is certainly true that in many constituencies ... MPs elected under AV will have the support of a higher proportion of voters than they did under FPTP".


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Existing use of voting systems in Britain and abroad
The 'No' campaign argued that only three countries use AV. It also stated that the Australian public wish to do away with AV, a claim that is false. At the time of the referendum, three nations used AV for parliamentary elections: Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji. However, AV is also used internationally for many other forms of election.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Existing use of voting systems in Britain and abroad
AV is used for Irish presidential elections and for by-elections in the Republic of Ireland, and in some local elections in New Zealand. In the United Kingdom, AV is used by MPs to elect the chairs of select committees, the Speaker of the House of Lords, and the Deputy Speakers of the House of Commons. AV is also used in by-elections to select hereditary peers for the House of Lords. A variant of AV called the supplementary vote is used to elect the Mayor of London and the mayors of other UK cities. A related system called the exhaustive ballot is used to elect the Speaker of the House of Commons. AV is used for various elections in the United States (see AV in the United States).


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Existing use of voting systems in Britain and abroad
AV is used by many private organisations in the UK, for example in the leadership elections of the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats, while the leadership elections for the Conservative Party use the related exhaustive ballot. AV is also used by the Royal British Legion, and in certain trade unions and students' unions. In the US, AV is now used to decide the winner of the Oscar for Best Picture.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Existing use of voting systems in Britain and abroad
A method similar to AV, called the two round system, is widely used internationally. For example, it is used to elect the National Assembly of France and the Presidents of eighty nations. The United States also uses primaries, followed by a second round, for the President, House of Representatives and the Senate.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Existing use of voting systems in Britain and abroad
PR-STV is another related system. It uses a preferential ballot like AV but is used for elections in multi-seat constituencies. It is used for national elections in the Republic of Ireland, Australia and Malta, for elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, and for other purposes in many other nations.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Existing use of voting systems in Britain and abroad
The 'No' campaign stressed that FPTP is used in over fifty countries, with a combined population of approximately 2.4 billion people. FPTP is used for legislature elections in the United States, India and Canada, as well as other non-G20 nations. It is used for presidential elections in twenty countries, and for various forms of election in 45 others (35 of these are Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations or British Overseas Territories).


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Proportional representation
Some opponents of AV saw it as a stepping stone toward unwanted (for them) proportional representation, while some supporters of proportional representation saw the referendum as a lost opportunity that would delay a move to proportional representation. Both positions have been described as "entirely speculative". An Evening Standard editorial described the result of a 'No' win: "the issue of electoral reform will be shelved for a generation".


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Proportional representation
On the other hand, Thomas Lundberg, an electoral systems specialist at Glasgow University, wrote in a Political Studies Association paper: "Anything that reduces the ability of small parties to win seats – a process that has been going on since the 1970s at British general elections – could be detrimental to the prospect of a PR transition. Because AV raises the threshold to victory to 50 per cent plus one vote, small parties, which often win seats on low vote shares, might be threatened unless they can win significant numbers of transfers from voters who prefer other parties."


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Tactical voting
Tactical voting means that a voter supports a candidate other than his or her sincere preference, in order to get a relatively desirable outcome. No conventional (i.e. ordinal) voting system can eliminate tactical voting (under the Gibbard–Satterthwaite theorem), and situations in which AV is susceptible to tactical voting can be demonstrated. The Yes to AV campaign argued that, under AV, such scenarios were rare or theoretical. The independent market research group Ipsos MORI has published a guide to AV.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Tactical voting
This states that the scenario in which tactical voting might influence the outcome of an AV election "is very easy to demonstrate in the case of AV and is unlikely to be especially rare". It is however true that, under AV, it is harder for the tactical voter to know what effect he is going to have so the prevalence of what is strictly defined as "tactical voting" may be reduced under AV.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Tactical voting
First-past-the-post is a monotonic voting system, while AV meets independence of clones and mutual majority criteria.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Tactical voting, AV and the BNP
The British National Party (BNP) supported a 'No' vote in the referendum. In response, Conservative chairman and 'No' supporter Baroness Warsi described AV as "a system which rewards extremism and gives oxygen to extremist groups". In response, the 'Yes' campaign launched advertising with the slogan, "Say No to the BNP, Say Yes on 5th May" pointing out the BNP's opposition to AV. The Channel 4 News FactCheck concluded the 'Yes' campaign was correct, saying:


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Tactical voting, AV and the BNP
AV is highly unlikely to help the BNP win any seats, and the secondary votes of BNP supporters alone wouldn't swing a seat for any other party – going on last year's results. In fact, in a very divided constituency, the BNP arguably has a better chance of winning a seat under First Past the Post than under AV.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Tactical voting, AV and the BNP
The FactCheck went on to quote the BNP deputy chairman Simon Darby, who said: "AV is a retrograde step – it's worse than what we've got now[.] We are never going to get our feet under the table under the AV system." The No2AV-Yes2PR campaign website countered that "AV does confer a subtle benefit on extremists like the BNP: increased legitimacy. AV enables people to cast 'free' protest vote safe in the knowledge that they can they cast a second preference for the party they actually want."


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Tactical voting, AV and the BNP
Dennis Leech, a professor at Warwick University, has argued that extremists like the BNP are more likely to win under FPTP, but he has also argued against the notion that AV automatically favours centrists:


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Tactical voting, AV and the BNP
while AV prevents the kind of undemocratic result that often occurs under FPTP, and always ensures that the winning candidate has at least some kind of majority support, it has nothing to do with proportional representation. It does not follow that centrist or compromise candidates such as the LibDems will be more likely to win – only that the least popular cannot win. A centrist candidate such as a LibDem will still need enough first preference votes to stand a chance.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Final weeks
The final weeks of the campaign were marked by an increased rancour, with a battle of words between members of the Coalition government. For example, Liberal Democrat energy secretary Chris Huhne threatened legal action over "untruths" that he claimed were told by Conservative Chancellor George Osborne that new voting machines would be required by AV, despite these not being used in Australian elections under AV and no plans to introduce them. The 'No' campaign countered, quoting a senior returning officer (Anthony Mayer), who said that voting machines would be essential with AV if results are desired as quickly as today, rather than counting over the weekend after a general election. See the row over possible costs section for a fuller discussion.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Final weeks
Huhne was reported to have strongly criticised Conservative colleagues at a Cabinet meeting in early May 2011 for the 'No' campaign's material. However, one of the key 'No' campaign leaflets he targeted, showing a newborn baby with the slogan "She needs a maternity unit, not an alternative voting system", was developed by Dan Hodges, a Labour Party campaigner working for NO2AV.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Campaign, Final weeks
Leading members of the Labour Party on different sides of the campaign also stepped up to campaign for the votes of Labour supporters, including a major newspaper interview with Peter Mandelson in which he called for a 'Yes' vote and a major advertising campaign by the Labour Yes to Fairer Votes group, both arguing that Labour voters should vote 'Yes' because of Conservative support for a 'No' result. However, the 'No' campaign responded by pointing out that a majority of Labour MPs opposed AV (130 out of 255 opposing AV, 86 in support). In the last week a grassroots campaign featuring Reform Cat in the YouTube video "Is your Cat confused about the referendum on the voting system on the 5th May?" which was released on 27 April 2011, gained more views than either official campaign videos.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Proposed AV system, System
Under the alternative vote system proposed in the referendum, voters would still be electing just one candidate associated with one geographic constituency. Instead of simply voting for one candidate on the ballot paper (with an 'X'), the voter would instead be asked to rank one or more of the candidates in order of preference. If after first preferences have been counted, no one candidate has a majority of the votes cast, then the bottom candidate will be eliminated and votes for that candidate are transferred to each voter's next available preference. The process continues repeatedly until one candidate reaches a majority and wins. The system proposed was a form of "optional preferential voting", in that voters would not be obliged to rank every candidate in order of preference in order to cast a valid vote.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Proposed AV system, Ballot instructions
Schedule 10 to the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 proposed to amend Paragraph (5) of Rule 29 of Schedule 1 to the Representation of the People Act 1983 (the "Parliamentary Election Rules"), so that the instructions to the voter displayed in ballot boxes would be changed from an instruction to vote for only one candidate, to read:


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Proposed AV system, Ballot instructions
"Remember—use 1, 2, 3 etc at this election—this is an election using the alternative vote system. Put the number 1 next to the name of the candidate who is your first choice (or your only choice, if you want to vote for only one candidate). You can also put the number 2 next to your second choice, 3 next to your third choice, and so on. You can mark as few or as many choices (up to the number of candidates) as you wish. Do not use the same number more than once. Put no other mark on the ballot paper, or your vote may not be counted."


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Proposed AV system, Ballot instructions
This was repealed by the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 (Repeal of Alternative Vote Provisions) Order 2011.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Voting areas and counts
The referendum was held nationally across all four countries of the United Kingdom as a single majority vote in 440 voting areas and twelve regional count areas. In England the districts were used as the voting areas before being combined into the nine regional count areas. In Scotland the constituencies of the Scottish Parliament were the voting areas, and in Wales the voting areas were the constituencies of the National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland was a voting area.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Voting areas and counts
The following table shows the breakdown of the voting areas for the referendum within the United Kingdom.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Result
According to the Electoral Commission, the votes were first counted in the 440 voting areas across the United Kingdom. Except in Northern Ireland, the results from these local counts were relayed to twelve regional count areas to be officially announced by the regional counting officers. Scotland and Wales were each classed as one regional count area, so votes in those areas were counted and declared locally within Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly constituency boundaries before the results were declared nationally.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Result
Northern Ireland was also classed as a single regional count area but its votes were counted and declared nationally as one unit. In England, the votes were counted and declared locally at district council level, and those results were carried over to the nine remaining regional count areas.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Result
The national result for the whole United Kingdom was announced at the Platinum Suite at the Exhibition Centre London (ExCel) by the chief counting officer (CCO) and chair of the Electoral Commission, Jenny Watson, at 0100 BST on Saturday 7 May 2011 after all 440 voting areas and UK regions had declared their results. With a national turnout of 42% across the United Kingdom the target to secure the majority win for the winning side was 9,639,512 votes. The decision by the electorate was a decisive 'No' vote to adopting the alternative vote system in all future United Kingdom general elections by a majority of 6,860,516 votes over those who had voted 'Yes' in favour of the proposal.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Result
Ahead of the last results from Northern Ireland, the result was confirmed as a 'No', as it was mathematically impossible for the 'Yes' voters to outnumber them.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Outcome
Further details of campaigning decisions emerged after the referendum result, with Dan Hodges reporting that the Conservatives had endorsed the 'No' campaign's targeting of Nick Clegg, although they had originally opposed the idea. Hodges also reported that an aide of David Cameron secretly met 'No' campaign leaders in a hotel room in order to stop the Liberal Democrats finding out the scale of Conservative involvement.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Outcome
The Coalition government continued and sought to present a united front after the fractious campaign. Former Conservative Cabinet minister Michael Portillo criticised Cameron, saying he "forgot the importance of courtesy" towards Clegg and the Liberal Democrats and, thus, the survival of the Coalition, when he joined what Portillo called "the disgraceful No campaign".


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Outcome
On 8 July 2011, the alternative vote provisions were repealed, bringing the statutory process that had initiated the referendum to an end.


2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, Outcome
The decisive 'No' vote continues to be cited as an endorsement of first-past-the-post and a rejection of proportional representation. The Conservative government response to a 2016–17 parliamentary petition demanding proportional representation said that "A referendum on changing the voting system was held in 2011 and the public voted overwhelmingly in favour of keeping the FPTP system." Tim Ivorson of the electoral reform campaign group Make Votes Matter responded by quoting the petition's text that "The UK has never had a say on PR. As David Cameron himself said, the AV referendum was on a system that is often less proportional than FPTP, so the rejection of AV could not possibly be a rejection of PR."


2011 United Kingdom budget
The 2011 United Kingdom budget, officially called 2011 Budget - A strong and stable economy, growth and fairness, was delivered by George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on 23 March 2011.


2011 United Kingdom budget
It was the second budget of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government formed in 2010, and the second to be delivered by Osborne.


2011 United Kingdom budget
Osborne quoted data and projections from the Office for Budget Responsibility relating to economic growth, inflation and borrowing. Key measures taken or introduced included increasing the personal tax allowance, cuts in corporation tax, a cut in fuel duty, and a new equity loan scheme designed to help first-time buyers in the property market.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Economy
Osborne announced that the Office for Budget Responsibility had cut its growth forecast for 2011 from 2.1% to 1.7%, and for 2012 from 2.6% to 2.5%.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Economy
In the June 2010 Budget and autumn spending review, he had already committed the Government to spending cuts to tackle the UK's deficit. He therefore made no further sweeping changes, but announced a Budget "about reforming the nation's economy, so that we have enduring growth and jobs in the future."


2011 United Kingdom budget, Economy
Forecasts for borrowing had fallen to £146 billion in 2011, £122 billion in 2012 and £29 billion by 2015–16. The national debt was estimated at 60% of current national income, rising to 71% in 2012 before starting to fall back to 69% by 2015.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Key measures taken or introduced, Taxes
Osborne announced that in April 2012, the personal tax allowance would be increased by £630 to £8,015, in line with Liberal Democrat policy. "Non-domiciled" residents in the UK will be levied up to £50,000 per annum.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Key measures taken or introduced, Taxes
Additionally, Osborne announced a consultation on long-term plans to merge income tax and National Insurance in order to simplify the tax system.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Key measures taken or introduced, Taxes
Corporation tax would be cut by 2% in April 2011, rather than the 1% previously planned. Further reductions of 1% in each of the next three years would reduce it to 23%. The temporary tax rate relief for small businesses would be extended to October 2012.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Key measures taken or introduced, Taxes
Council tax was frozen or reduced in 2011 in every English council. The rise in air passenger duty was also frozen for a year, though users of private jets would have to pay a passenger duty for the first time.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Key measures taken or introduced, Taxes
Osborne deferred until 2012 a rise in fuel duty that had been planned for April 2011, and cancelled the previous government's fuel duty escalator for the remainder of the parliament. Instead he increased the supplementary charge levied on North Sea oil and gas companies from 20% to 32%, generating £2 billion to finance an immediate cut in duty of 1p per litre. The Value-added tax on fuel would remain unchanged and road tax would be increased in line with inflation (except for large goods vehicles for which road tax would be frozen).


2011 United Kingdom budget, Key measures taken or introduced, Taxes
No changes were made to alcohol duty rates but a rise of 2% above the rate of inflation in excise duties for wine and beer did go ahead as planned. Tobacco duty rates were also raised by 2% above inflation.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Key measures taken or introduced, Spending
Public spending measures included an extra 40,000 apprenticeships for young people out of work, 100,000 new work experience placements, and 12 new university technical colleges (UTCs), doubling the number to at least 24.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Key measures taken or introduced, Spending
Osborne also allocated £100 million of new money for science, financed by the bank levy, £80 million of which would be invested in new research centres in Daresbury, Norwich and Cambridge, and the remainder would be for projects in Harwell.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Key measures taken or introduced, Spending
£100 million would be allocated to repairing potholes in England, following the severe winter, and £200 million to regional railways, including the construction of the Ordsall Chord in Manchester and the double-tracking of the line between Swindon and Kemble.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Key measures taken or introduced, Spending
Britain's role in the military intervention in Libya would be financed entirely by the Treasury and Treasury reserve.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Key measures taken or introduced, Spending
The Budget also provided £250 million, financed by the bank levy, to boost the home construction industry and to help first-time buyers with incomes of up to £60,000 to buy a new-build property. The scheme, available for one year, requires buyers to save a deposit of 5% of the purchase price, with the government and housebuilders each providing 10% through an equity loan, enabling the buyer to qualify for a 75% loan-to-value mortgage. The equity loan would be interest-free for the first five years.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Prior announcements and discussions
The date of the Budget was announced by Sir George Young on 4 November 2010. Only a few weeks' notice had been given for the previous government's budgets, and this was one of the earliest budget date announcements on record.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Prior announcements and discussions
In his 2010 Autumn Statement, Osborne said the Office for Budget Responsibility had increased its growth forecast for 2010 from 1.2% to 1.8%, but reduced its predictions for the following two years. It had also reduced its forecast for public sector job losses, and did not expect a double-dip recession.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Prior announcements and discussions
Osborne also announced "the most significant programme of corporation tax reforms for a generation". The main area subject to change is the taxation of multinational companies on overseas earnings. However, Deloitte's head of tax policy, Bill Dodwell, said the proposals went no further than the previous government had already announced. Detail was also lacking and, while some interim measures were expected in the 2011 budget, observers expected to wait until 2012 to see the full overhaul.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Prior announcements and discussions
Income tax personal allowances for people under the age of 65 were expected to be raised in line with the Government's commitment to raise the allowance to £10,000 over the course of the parliament, a key Liberal Democrat policy. To pay for this, a range of measures were expected to close tax loopholes for the wealthy. An initiative to counter tax avoidance with a target of £500 million per annum was announced in December 2010, but the expected take had doubled to £1 billion by March 2011.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Reactions after the Budget speech
Ed Miliband, Leader of the Opposition, responded with sarcasm to the Budget's stated goals of growth and recovery. He said that the economic slowdown in the last quarter was evidence that the Government was going "too far, too fast" to reduce the deficit, and accused Osborne of indifference to social damage.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Reactions after the Budget speech
Miliband also claimed that the budget speech had sent Kenneth Clarke, Justice Secretary and former Chancellor, to sleep. A spokesman for Clarke denied this, but bookmaker Ladbrokes paid out on bets at 16/1 that Clarke would drop off during the speech.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Reactions after the Budget speech
Robert Peston, the BBC's business editor, suggested that the Chancellor would be seen to have chosen "a principled Budget rather than a crowd-pleasing one".


2011 United Kingdom budget, Reactions after the Budget speech
The Confederation of British Industry and other business groups welcomed the Budget, saying that it would create jobs. However, speaking for the Trades Union Congress, Brendan Barber welcomed some measures including help for apprenticeship and the cut in fuel duty, but said that overall it had been a "no change Budget".


2011 United Kingdom budget, Reactions after the Budget speech
The changes in corporation tax were sufficient to encourage companies such as WPP to move their headquarters back to the UK.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Reactions after the Budget speech
John Whiting, tax director of the Office of Tax Simplification, was disappointed that the review of National Insurance would not go as far as a full merger with income tax, even though this could have meant imposing higher taxes on pensioners.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Reactions after the Budget speech
Countrywide research in the days after the Budget showed that the fuel duty cut had indeed resulted in fuel prices falling, but not by the 1p per litre announced by Osborne. Prices fell by an average of 0.6p per litre following the immediate duty cut; some motorists reported that fuel retailers had raised their prices prior to the Budget, meaning that despite the duty cut the prices were still the same or higher.


2011 United Kingdom budget, Reactions after the Budget speech
The increase in taxes on oil & gas production had widespread effects on the upstream industry - within weeks Centrica mothballed the main part of the Morecambe Bay gas field, responsible for 6% of UK gas supply. As an older field it paid 81% tax after the Budget. Statoil immediately put on hold the US$10bn development of the Mariner and Bressay fields containing 600 million barrels of oil, with their head of international development and production saying "They’ve wanted more developments offshore U.K. and then they come and slam the door in our face... There are a lot of assets in the U.K. that aren’t all that interesting anymore now." In response Osborne increased the Ring Fence Expenditure Supplement allowance for development costs, and Statoil resumed work on the fields.


2011 United Kingdom census
A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for the census in England and Wales, the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) is responsible for the census in Scotland, and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) is responsible for the census in Northern Ireland.


2011 United Kingdom census
The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department formed in 2008 and which reports directly to Parliament. ONS is the UK Government's single largest statistical producer of independent statistics on the UK's economy and society, used to assist the planning and allocation of resources, policy-making and decision-making. ONS designs, manages and runs the census in England and Wales. In its capacity as the national statistics office for the United Kingdom, ONS also compiles and releases census tables for the United Kingdom when the data from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are complete.


2011 United Kingdom census
In the run-up to the census both the main UK political parties expressed concerns about the increasing cost and the value for money of the census, and it was suggested that the 2011 census might be the last decennial census to be taken.


2011 United Kingdom census
The first results from the 2011 census, age and sex, and occupied households estimates for England and Wales and Northern Ireland, were released on 16 July 2012. The first results for Scotland, and the first UK-wide results, were published on 17 December 2012. More detailed and specialised data were published from 2013.


2011 United Kingdom census, Background, History
The Registrar General John Rickman conducted the first census of Great Britain's population, and was responsible for the ten-yearly reports published between 1801 and 1831. During the first 100 years of census-taking the population of England and Wales grew more than threefold, to around 32 million, and that of Scotland, where a separate census has been carried out since 1861, to about 4.5 million.


2011 United Kingdom census, Background, History
From 1911 onwards rapid social change, scientific breakthroughs, and major world events affected the structure of the population. A fire that destroyed census records in 1931, and the declaration of war in 1939, made the 1951 census hugely significant in recording 30 years of change over one of the most turbulent periods in British history.


2011 United Kingdom census, Background, History
The 1971 census was run by the newly created Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS), a body formed by the merger of the General Register Office and Government Social Survey. In 1996 the Office for National Statistics (ONS) was formed by merging the Central Statistical Office (CSO), OPCS and the statistics division of the Department of Employment; the first census it ran was in 2001. In 2008 the UK Statistics Authority was established as an independent body.


2011 United Kingdom census, Background, Purpose
A population census is a key instrument for assessing the needs of local communities. When related to other data sources such as housing or agricultural censuses, or sample surveys, the data becomes even more useful. Most countries of the world take censuses: the United Nations recommends that countries take a census at least once every ten years. Twenty-one out of 40 countries in Europe are engaged in the 2010–2011 census roundThe design for the 2011 census reflected changes in society since 2001 and asked questions to help paint a detailed demographic picture of England and Wales, as it stood on census day, 27 March 2011.


2011 United Kingdom census, Background, Purpose
Data collected by the census is used to provide statistical outputs which central government uses to plan and allocate local authority services funding, and which local authorities themselves use to identify and meet the needs of their local communities. Other organisations that use census data include healthcare organisations, community groups, researchers and businesses. The questionnaires, including people's personal information, are kept confidential for 100 years before being released to the public, providing an important source of information for historical, demographic and genealogy research.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for England and Wales, Operation
The 2011 census for England and Wales included around 25 million households. Questionnaires were posted out to all households, using a national address register compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) with the help of local authorities through comparisons of the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) and the Royal Mail and Ordnance Survey national address products.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for England and Wales, Operation
People could complete and submit their questionnaire online, or fill it in on paper and post it back in a pre-addressed envelope. Guidance was provided online and through the census helpline. Completed questionnaires were electronically tracked and field staff followed up with households that did not return a questionnaire. Special arrangements were made to count people living in communal establishments such as; boarding schools, prisons, military bases, hospitals, care homes, student halls of residence, hotels, royal apartments and embassies, as well as for particular communities; rough sleepers, travellers and those living on waterways. In these cases field staff delivered and collected questionnaires and, where needed, provided advice or assistance in completing the questionnaire.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for England and Wales, Operation
There was a legal requirement to complete the 2011 census questionnaire, under the terms of the Census Act 1920. As at 27 March 2011 everyone who had lived or intended to live in the country for three months or more was required to complete a questionnaire. Failure to return a completed questionnaire could lead to a fine and criminal record.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for England and Wales, Production
Lockheed Martin UK, the UK arm of US-based aerospace, defence, security, and technology company Lockheed Martin was awarded the contract to provide services for the census comprising questionnaire printing, a customer contact centre and data capture and processing. The contract was valued at £150 million, approximately one third of the total £482 million census budget.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for England and Wales, Production
Concerns were raised during contract negotiations that the US PATRIOT Act could be used to force Lockheed Martin to reveal census data to US authorities. The Cabinet Office state that Lockheed Martin will "develop the systems" used to process census data, but that "in essence ... neither Lockheed Martin UK nor any Lockheed Martin employee will have access to personal Census data." The Office for National Statistics stated that no personal census information will ever leave the UK or be seen by any American-owned company.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for England and Wales, Production
Several groups called for a boycott of the census over the involvement of Lockheed Martin, including the Stop the War Coalition, and the Christian thinktank Ekklesia. The groups were concerned about sharing data with a company involved in surveillance and data processing for the CIA and FBI; and also providing funding to an arms company making nuclear missiles and cluster bombs. The Green Party also objected, and campaigned unsuccessfully to stop Lockheed Martin getting the contract, although no decision was made about whether or not to call for a boycott. The Census Alert campaign group also decided against calling for a boycott.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for England and Wales, Production
Liberal Conspiracy said a boycott would be counter-productive, as the Census is used to distribute funding to local services. Liberal Conspiracy reports that a council may lose £22,000 over 10 years for each person who does not complete the census.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for England and Wales, Production
The census for England and Wales was trialled in 135,000 households in Lancaster, the London Borough of Newham and Anglesey on 11 October 2009. A test was also carried out in Birmingham at the same time. The questions for the 2011 Census were the same as those trialled in the 2009 Census Rehearsal. The Order for the 2011 Census (including the proposed question topics, census date and who should complete the questionnaire) was laid before Parliament in October 2009 and was approved by Parliament and became law in December 2009.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for England and Wales, Production
Capita Group was contracted by ONS to recruit, train and administer the pay for the 35,000 temporary ONS workers who worked as field staff for the 2011 census.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for England and Wales, Costs and value for money
The total cost of the 2011 Census in England and Wales over the period from 2004/05 to 2015/16 is estimated to be £482 million. This is more than twice the £210m spent on the 2001 census. This breaks down to a cost of 87 pence per person, per year (over the life of the census – ten years). “The cost equates to about 87p a year per person, demonstrating excellent value for money. The per capita costs in the UK are less than for many other European countries that carry out similar censuses. In summary, this census will meet crucial requirements for statistical information that Government and others cannot do without.” Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Angela E. Smith).


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for England and Wales, Costs and value for money
Both the main UK political parties had expressed concerns about the rising costs and value of a ten-yearly census, and on coming into office the UK coalition government had gone as far as suggesting that the 2011 census might be the last of its kind. In July 2010 the UK government asked ONS to explore other methods of measuring the population. In 2011 the three national statistics bodies, ONS, GROS and NISRA set up a co-ordinated research project known as Beyond 2011.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for England and Wales, Costs and value for money
The objectives of the programme were to assess the feasibility of improving UK population statistics using integrated data sources to replace or complement existing approaches, and whether alternative data sources could provide the priority statistics on the characteristics of small populations typically provided by a census. The project reported its findings in March 2014 and recommended that a UK-wide census in 2021 should take place, and that better use should be made of other demographic data sources.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for England and Wales, Changes from 2001 census
The general style of the questionnaire was similar to that of the 2001 census. A rehearsal questionnaire was released in 2009. Several new identity and status options were included for the first time. Other changes for 2011 included:


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for England and Wales, Changes from 2001 census
In 2001 only 38 people were reported to have been prosecuted for refusing to complete a questionnaire. In 2011 those who refused to complete the census questionnaire or included false information could face a fine of up to £1,000. A team of compliance staff were recruited to follow up by visiting those householders who refused to complete a questionnaire or where their questionnaire was not returned or completed correctly.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for England and Wales, Advertising
Advertising promoted the notion of how the UK 2011 census would help to shape Britain's future in areas such as healthcare and education. TV adverts, for example, depicted Origami, in census colours, forming objects including school computers and buses. A short sentence under the census logo informed the viewer that the census was a duty that must be undertaken. From 7 April 2011 advertising focused on reminding people to complete and return by post or submit online.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for England and Wales, Controversy
While in opposition, the Conservatives termed the census as a "sex snoopers charter", accusing it of infringing on privacy.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for England and Wales, Controversy
In a Commons Debate on population and the traditional enumeration methodology of the 2011 Census, Conservative Party Chairman and MP for Horsham Francis Maude, said:


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for England and Wales, Controversy
“The UK Statistics Authority is responsible for carrying out the census in England and Wales. The board of the authority has expressed the view that the 2011 census should be the last conduction on the traditional basis. Through the 'Beyond 2011' project the authority has been considering alternative ways of obtaining information that has been traditionally gathered via a census.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for England and Wales, Controversy
The current advice from the ONS is clear. Census alternatives are not sufficiently developed to provide now the information required to meet essential UK and EU requirements. It is therefore important that the census goes ahead in England and Wales on 27 March 2011. ONS must do all it can to ensure it is a success."


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for England and Wales, Controversy
Although some 37,000 people recorded their identity as Cornish by manually writing it on the form in the 2001 census, no tick-box was provided in 2011 to select Cornish as a White British national identity, despite campaigns. As a consequence, posters were created by the census organisation and Cornwall Council which advised residents of how they could identify themselves as Cornish by writing it in the ethnicity, national identity and main language sections. Additionally, people could record Cornwall as their country of birth.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for England and Wales, Controversy
During the consultation on the 2011 census the British Humanist Association raised several concerns about question 20, "What is your religion?". The BHA argued it was a leading question, and suggested that it should be phrased as two questions, "Do you have a religion?" and "If so, what is it?". It contended that by placing the religion question near the ethnicity question it would encourage some responders to associate religion with cultural identity. The BHA also ran adverts during March 2011 encouraging the use of the 'no religion' box in the questionnaire.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for Northern Ireland
The 2011 Census for Northern Ireland had 59 questions in total. 14 were about the household and its accommodation and45 questions were for each individual member of the household to complete.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for Northern Ireland
The rehearsal was held on Sunday 11 October 2009 in two areas, Derriaghy and Moy & Benburb, covering approximately 5,000 households.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for Northern Ireland
The 2011 Census for Northern Ireland costing around £21.8 million over thesix-year period 2008–2014. Over the ten-year cycle the cost is expected to be about £25 million.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for Scotland
In Scotland, a wholly owned subsidiary of information technology company CACI was contracted to gather information. CACI "provided interrogators who worked at Abu Ghraib prison at the height of the prisoner abuse scandal".


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for Scotland
The 2011 Scotland Census asked 13 household questions and up to 35 questions for each individual. Plans were rehearsed in west Edinburgh and Lewis and Harris.


2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census for Scotland
The 2011 census was the first to include a question asking about the ability to read, write and understand the Scots language alongside the question for ability in Scottish Gaelic and English languages.


2011 United Kingdom census, Release plans for 2011 census statistics
Responsibility for the release of data from the 2011 census is split between the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for England and Wales, the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) for Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). The ONS announced in March the release plan for the results of the 2011 census which stated in July 2012. NISRA made a similar announcement with identical release plan. In June 2012 GROS advised on its release plan which commences in December 2012. The releases will comprise data sets enabling the standard comparison with previous census data reports as well as over a hundred new data sets based on the new questions asked in the 2011 census.


2011 United Kingdom census, Release plans for 2011 census statistics, Prospectuses
NISRA, ONS and GROS each publish a schedule stating what documents they will release and when. Those documents are called a "prospectus". Each prospectus isn't fixed, but changes as schedules are changed or documents are late. The prospectuses are linked to in the table below.


2011 United Kingdom census, Release plans for 2011 census statistics, Release schedules
The Office for National Statistics is responsible for publishing United Kingdom wide 2011 census data. These are co-ordinated releases coinciding with data published by the three national statistical authorities.


2011 United Kingdom census, Release plans for 2011 census statistics, Release schedules, Release 1.1: (17 December 2012)
Population data including data for males and females for the United Kingdom and revised estimates England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.


2011 United Kingdom census, Release plans for 2011 census statistics, Release schedules, Release 1.2: (21 March 2013)
Population numbers (rounded), by five-year age bands, sex and densities and household sata at national and local authority level.


2011 United Kingdom census, Release plans for 2011 census statistics, Release schedules, Release 1.3: (31 July 2013)
Population estimates (unrounded) by single year of age and sex for the UK and all local authorities (or equivalent) in the UK, along with UK historic population pyramids (1951–2011).


2011 United Kingdom census, Release plans for 2011 census statistics, Release schedules, Release 2.1 (11 October 2013)
Key and Quick statistics Part 1 – Census Profiles; Population, People and Places, Health and Social Care, Travel and Transport. National and Local Authority geographies.


2011 United Kingdom census, Release plans for 2011 census statistics, Release schedules, Release 2.2 (4 December 2013)
Key and Quick statistics Part 2 – Census Profiles; Qualifications and Labour Market. National and Local Authority geographies.


2011 United Kingdom census, Release plans for 2011 census statistics, Release schedules, Release 2.3 (23 January 2014)
Key and Quick statistics Part 3 – Multivariate, Local and Detailed Characteristics tables for: Living arrangements; Household composition; and Accommodation type.


2011 United Kingdom census, Release plans for 2011 census statistics, Release schedules, Subsequent releases of UK-wide 2011 Census specialist products
A series of further releases, subsequent to the four main releases of 2011 Census statistics including migration tables, workplace tables, detailed religion and ethnic group tables, and statistics relating to alternative population bases. Specialist products would include:- Small population groups; microdata; flow data (also known as origin-destination statistics). It is also suggested that data organised around alternative population bases may be produced.


2011 United Kingdom census, Release plans for 2011 census statistics, Release schedules, Subsequent releases of UK-wide 2011 Census specialist products
The original plans of the ONS, covering England and Wales, confirmed that there would be four stages of data release starting in July 2012 and running until October 2013. This was increased to five stages in October 2013. A detailed commentary accompanies each release along with relevant reference materials. Additionally there will be graphic visualisations providing further clarification and comparison between different data sets and comparison over time using data from earlier censuses. There will also be more specialist reports and products. Certain data bases will also be produced in the Welsh language.


2011 United Kingdom census, Release plans for 2011 census statistics, Release schedules, First phase releases: July – November 2012
Population estimates, age and sex, and occupied households estimates for England and for Wales


2011 United Kingdom census, Release plans for 2011 census statistics, Release schedules, First phase releases: July – November 2012
Residents with second properties outside the local authority area of their primary residence, at country and local authority level


2011 United Kingdom census, Release plans for 2011 census statistics, Release schedules, First phase releases: July – November 2012
Estimates of the usual resident population and households by age, and sex and occupied households at ward and output area level


2011 United Kingdom census, Release plans for 2011 census statistics, Release schedules, Second phase releases: December 2012 – March 2013
Key and quick univariate (single parameter) statistics based on output levels, with release based on geography. (e.g. local authority, wards and parish/ community) tabulated by population count and percentages and accessible by post code.


2011 United Kingdom census, Release plans for 2011 census statistics, Release schedules, Second phase releases: December 2012 – March 2013
Key Statistics for local authorities in England and Wales comprising data which adds detail to the population estimates published in July 2012. It includes population information on international migration, age, ethnicity, national identity, health, housing and religion. Also labour force survey data. For Wales, there is data on the Welsh language and population data on unitary authorities.


2011 United Kingdom census, Release plans for 2011 census statistics, Release schedules, Second phase releases: December 2012 – March 2013
Statistical tables for Output Areas (OAs) and for wards. Background information covering families, general health and disability, unpaid care, language, occupation and industry, qualifications and economic activity.


2011 United Kingdom census, Release plans for 2011 census statistics, Release schedules, Second phase releases: December 2012 – March 2013
Key and quick statistics for postcode sectors, health areas and Welsh Government devolved constituencies, and the key statistics for national parks in England and Wales, with a separate release for Wales only.