Support firming for keeping and improving MMP

Keep MMP has welcomed a firming in support for retaining our MMP voting system.

The three most recent opinion polls have had support for keeping MMP at over 50%.

Today’s Herald Digipoll has support for keeping MMP up three points to 50.6%, and those wanting change down, on 39.3%. It follows Sunday’s TVNZ poll with support for MMP at 51% and last Friday’s 3News poll with MMP support at 54.5%.

“New Zealanders are coming down on the side of voting to keep MMP and kicking the tyres to see how we can make our voting system work better,” said Sandra Grey, who addressed groups in Waipukurau last night and Palmerston North on Wednesday.

Sandra Grey also welcomed comments reported today http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10766872 from Finance Minister Bill English, where he told a business audience that National had done a “pretty good job of making (MMP) work”, noting that it had required governments to secure public support for major policy changes.

“Bill English is correct. We are used to MMP, and it has matured as a system. It is working well and has produced strong, stable governments,” Sandra Grey said.

“In the past three years, National had fulfilled over 90 of its election promises in its first 100 days; managed New Zealand through a recession; and coped with Canterbury’s devastating earthquakes.”

“MMP is flexible and adaptable. A vote to keep MMP automatically triggers an independent review, agreed to by all political parties, where we can tweak and improve MMP.”

“Because make no mistake, if we don’t vote to keep our MMP system on November 26, all we’ll be doing is asking ourselves in three years time at another referendum, whether we want to take a step backwards to First Past the Post, the only other voting system with any real support.”

"And New Zealanders have made it clear they do not want to return to First Past the Post http://www.campaignformmp.org.nz/news/poll-shows-support-keep-mmp-and-make-it-better ," Sandra Grey said.

Ends.

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