Despite being the only county in the country without a council election taking place, voters in Wiltshire proved themselves admirably active in the AV referendum – some 45.6 per cent taking part in the ballot.
The result, as expected, was a devastating blow against changing the first past the post voting system, some 113,359 voting against and only 45,782 in favour of AV.
In percentage terms, that is 71.25 against to 28.75 for.
The votes were counted at a regional centre. “It means that there are no area breakdowns of how people voted,” a Wiltshire Council spokeswomen told Marlborough News Online. “We can’t tell you what the figures were for Marlborough or any other part of the county.”
Local MP Claire Perry told Marlborough News Online: “I am really pleased with the resounding No to AV result that we achieved across Wiltshire and also the high turnout figures.
“With no council elections to get us to the polls, a 46 per cent turnout figure really shows that people felt strongly about this issue.”
She added: “We still need to work to change the political system but it is clear that a change to the electoral system is not the way to achieve it.”
“We are all now back at work in Westminster, working hard to get on with fixing the problems left us by the last government.”