U.K. referendum

Hasan Suroor

LONDON: Britain's coalition government was on Thursday set for a collision between its two partners — the Tories and the Liberal Democrats — as people voted in a referendum to decide whether to retain the first-past-the-post voting system or switch to Alternative Vote (AV) in which voters rank candidates in order of preference.

Opinion polls gave the “no” camp, backed by the Tories, an almost unassailable lead over “yes” campaigners led by the Lib Dems.Elections were also held for the Scottish Parliament, devolved assemblies in Northern Ireland and Wales, and hundreds of local bodies across England. Both Tories and the Lib Dems were expected to be routed in these elections.