A CAMPAIGN to persuade people to vote for a change in the voting system at the first national referendum for more than 30 years kicked off in Barnet over the weekend.

On May 5 people will have a chance to vote as to whether they would prefer parliamentary elections to be decided using the alternative vote (AV) system.

Currently the UK uses the first past the post format, meaning the candidate with the most votes in a seat wins, even if they do not have more than 50 per cent of support.

On Saturday a group of activists took to the streets in High Barnet to talk to people about why they should vote for a change to the system.

James Grindrod of East Finchley, the group’s co-ordinator, said: “This referendum offers a clear choice, either we keep our outdated and broken system, which only works for politicians, or we choose AV, which works for all of us.

“It’s a small change that will make a big difference. For the first time everyone's vote will count.

“It will make our MPs work harder for our vote, and allow us to vote for the parties we really want.”

However, opponents say the system will deliver more hung parliaments, leading to coalition Governments, like we currently have, running the country and may open the door for extremist groups to gain more seats.

AV is currently used in the London Mayoral and Greater London Assembly elections, where candidates are ranked in order of preference, with candidates knocked out in each round of counting and the second choice votes from their forms being transferred to opponents until someone reaches a 50 per cent majority.