David Cameron warned of AV vote backlash

David Cameron was warned by a senior Tory today that a Yes vote in the historic AV referendum will be "called into question" if only a minority of voters bother to take part.

The Prime Minister faced the nightmare prospect of recriminations if he loses the poll and is then honour bound to push through a change in the voting system against the wishes of Tory MPs and peers.

Speaking alongside Labour veteran Lord Reid in a show of unity against the proposed alternative vote system, the Prime Minister admitted that a very low turnout was likely. "There is a problem out there which is that, I think, millions of people in our country aren't engaged in this debate or this argument at all," he said.
Evidence is growing that Scottish and Welsh votes may carry the day.

A poll found the Yes camp ahead by three points in Scotland, where elections to the devolved parliament on the same day means a high turnout of 50 per cent or more is expected. However, campaigners in London estimate the turnout could be a miserable 15 per cent because there are no local elections here.

Conservative MP Eleanor Laing said it could be considered "illegitimate" if Londoners were out-voted because of the timing of the referendum. "Yes, there would be a result but it will be called into question," she said. "Surely you cannot think that is okay for democracy." Mr Cameron made clear today he will honour the outcome of the referendum, no matter how low the turnout or how close the winning majority. He warned against "sleepwalking" into such a major constitutional change and urged: "We must not let that happen so we've got to get out there and fight and we've got to get out there and win."

There is just over a fortnight before voters will be asked to choose between the traditional first past the post system of electing MPs and the AV system in which voters can rank candidates. Dr Reid also warned against pushing through a major constitutional change on the back of "a very, very low turnout". He branded AV a "losers' charter" and accused the Liberal Democrats of trying to change the rules "for tactical party advantage".

Labour leader Ed Miliband was sharing a platform with Lib-Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable at a rival Yes to AV campaign a few streets away. They were joined by comedian Eddie Izzard, trade union leader Billy Hayes and Green Party London Assembly member Darren Johnson.

In a contrasting tactic, Mr Miliband sought to paint the referendum as a battle of hope against fear rather than a verdict on Nick Clegg or Mr Cameron. He urged voters to use next month's local elections, being held in most English regions but not London, to give the Lib-Dems a "kicking", rather than the AV poll.

"This referendum is not about Nick Clegg, it's not about David Cameron, it's not about me," he said. "It is a chance to have a better politics in Britain."

* Vince Cable today vowed he would not quit the Cabinet following his attack on David Cameron.

Angry Tories called for the Lib-Dem Business Secretary to go after he criticised parts of Mr Cameron's immigration speech last week as "very unwise" and said that it "risked inflaming extremism". But at a joint event with Labour leader Ed Miliband today, Mr Cable described cross-party discussions on immigration as "amicable and businesslike", adding: "I feel very comfortable in the Cabinet and in the Coalition."

But Mr Cable later revealed that he considered resigning late last year after he was secretly recorded boasting that he could bring down the Coalition by quitting and claiming to have "declared war" on Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.