Britain will hold a referendum next year on its biggest electoral reform in decades in a vote that will test its coalition administration, a government source said today.
Voting reform was one of the biggest stumbling blocks in creating Britain's first coalition government in 65 years after an inconclusive election in May ended 13 years of Labour rule.
Conservative prime minister David Cameron had long opposed any reform, but said after the election he would compromise to form a stable government, despite opposition within his party.
In the referendum, to be held next May, voters will have their say on switching from the current "first-past-the-post" system to an "alternative vote" (AV) model, similar to that used in Australia.
Mr Cameron's spokesman said the prime minister would maintain his opposition to the reform. His party will have to vote in favour of the law underpinning the referendum in parliament, but will be free to campaign against the changes. "(He) has set out his position in the past on this that he will be campaigning against AV," the spokesman told reporters. "During the campaign, he will be asked his view and his view is that he is not in favour of it."
Asked about the referendum's importance, the spokesman added: "It's central to the coalition government's programme."
Mr Cameron's opposition to change will put him at odds with deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, whose Liberal Democrat party secured the promise of a national vote as a key condition to forming the coalition government.
Mr Clegg will announce within days that the vote will take place on May 5th, the same day as local elections in England and national polls in Scotland and Wales, the government source said.
The coalition already is under intense scrutiny after an emergency budget last month set out deep public spending cuts and tax rises to reduce a record peacetime deficit.
The first-past-the-post system has marginalised the Lib Dems, creating two-party election battles that normally end with single-party majority governments.
The Lib Dems trailed a distant third in May's election, winning just 57 seats in the 650-seat parliament, despite securing 23 per cent of the vote. The party had wanted a bigger move to proportional representation, but accepted the AV system as a compromise.
Under AV, voters list candidates by order of preference. Anyone who secures more than 50 per cent of the votes is declared the winner. However, if no one gets a majority, the last-placed candidate is eliminated and their supporters' second choices are added to the other candidates' totals. The process is repeated until one candidate hits 50 per cent.
Labour had promised during the election to hold a referendum on switching to AV, with former Labour foreign secretary David Miliband, campaigning to be his party's new leader, saying it would be fairer.
Agencies