Lib Dem commitment to PR ‘absolute’
Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell is expected to say his party’s commitment to proportional representation is “absolute”.
His comments come after a senior party official has said electoral reform was “not a deal maker and not a deal breaker” for a possible coalition deal.
But in a speech to Welsh Liberal Democrats Sir Menzies is set to say party members should be in “no doubt” about his commitment to PR.
“Be in no doubt that my commitment to proportional representation – for every election – is absolute,” he is expected to say.
“Don’t forget that it was by positioning ourselves as the driving force in the government of Wales’s first term that over 100 Liberal Democrat policies were put into action.
“You know, it was proportional representation that made that possible.”
Comments from former Lib Dem head of media Mark Littlewood this weekend that PR would not be a deal breaker if it came to forming a coalition were dismissed as “unauthorised”.
Proportional representation – where the number of seats in a parliament reflects the number of votes cast for each party nationally – has been a key part Liberal Democrat policy since the party was founded.
PR is used to elect the Scottish parliament and both the Welsh and London Assemblies.
Sir Menzies is set to describe PR as “a system that ensures that every vote counts, a system which is fair, democratic and inclusive”.
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