It seems straight forward to me. If you are a Conservative in a Labour area or a Liberal in most parts of the country, or a Labour voter in a Conservative or liberal stronghold, you’re picking the ‘least worst’ option in a first past the post in order to try to maximise your chances of not putting the incumbent back. You probably dont pick who you’d actually like to govern you.

Personally I’d appreciate the chance to show my first choice, even if it then ends up commuting to my least worst option after elimination.

Imagine the freedom when people in Labour strongholds are able to vote Conservative if they really want that, or Liberal if they really want that, with their second choice as the other, knowing that if their choice places third, it isn’t completely discounted and will support the stronger of the two.

Say for example you have a 41% Labour vote, a 39% Conservative and 18% Liberal with 2% other. Those two might boost the Labour and Liberal vote. 42% Labour and 19% Liberal… But then the Liberals would be split between Labour and Conservative. I don’t think we know how that would work, but the result would be one the majority of constituents would be happy with.

You don’t have to vote for every candidate and for me the end to ‘tactical’ voting and the freedom to openly express your political opinion without ‘letting the enemy in’ makes complete sense to me. The only reason you’d vote No to AV is if you believe your only mandate comes from tactical voting and I think it is telling that this scares the Tories most.