Labour leader urges supporters to look beyond Nick Clegg's broken promises and concentrate on the main issue
Ed Miliband will make his strongest intervention yet in the referendum on the alternative vote (AV) when he addresses a Labour Yes rally on Wednesday, urging voters not to reduce the referendum to a verdict on Nick Clegg's broken promises.
The Labour leader will claim that AV "will restore the balance of power in favour of voters".
Following a dispute this week with Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader and deputy prime minister, over sharing a joint platform, he will call on Labour supporters to look beyond Clegg's performance in government and instead concentrate on the substantive issue of voting reform.
Miliband's speech comes as 17 former senior ambassadors write to the Guardian expressing support for AV, rejecting the argument that first past the post produces strong government.
Labour figures addressing the rally in London include Neil Kinnock, Oona King and Ken Livingstone.
David Cameron, in a sign of the high stakes involved, reassured 60 Tory MPs that he is dedicating the resources necessary to ensure victory on 5 May for the No campaign.
Many MPs still say the outcome is too difficult to predict and that much will depend on whether voters make their decision on the basis of the substantive question or on Clegg's popularity.
Miliband will tell the rally: "The arguments in this referendum have been framed around whether a Yes vote damages David Cameron or a No vote damages Nick Clegg. It is about something more. I want to take head-on the fear designed to appeal to Labour supporters: that a Yes vote in this referendum will be seen as a vindication of Nick Clegg.
"I know this referendum is far harder to win because of Nick Clegg's broken promises. But we can't reduce the second referendum in British political history to a verdict on one man.
"The change to the alternative vote deserves our support because it is fairer and because it encourages a better politics.
"The British people know that the state of our politics is badly broken. Many see Westminster as remote and out of touch.
"Politicians should never feel safe or insulated from those they represent. That's what I want to change."
However, Miliband will admit: "Let's be honest: AV is no panacea. It isn't perfect, but it would help to restore the balance of power in favour of voters.
"So on May 5th, ask yourselves one simple question: are you happy with the state of British politics? If the answer is no, then seize this opportunity for change."
He will also attack Clegg by saying both Labour and the Liberal Democrats had campaigned for a fully elected second chamber, adding: "I will keep that promise." Miliband will make those remarks in the knowledge that Clegg now favours an 80% elected Lords that keeps a small appointed element.
Clegg says that change is the only way to get the reform through parliament. It will be seen as a way to keep the expertise that many see as the great virtue of the Lords.
The ambassadors' letter, also signed by Sir Stephen Wall, a former British ambassador to the EU, says: "First past the post is said to deliver strong government. Having worked for governments of every political colour, we are convinced that this strength is often illusory. Genuinely strong government needs a strong parliament and a flourishing democracy. Neither is helped by a voting system that is unfair and out of date."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/mar/15/miliband-av-good-for-voters
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