Nigel: see my post of 19 Apr 11 - 02:07 AM. One of the key problems of FPTP for expressing diverse views is that having two candidates in the same constituency with slightly different points of view means neither gets elected. Hence every party cares passionately that all their candidates are 'on message' during a campaign and any hint of diversity within a party gets stomped on. But under AV, that isn't a problem: you can have two candidates whose views are perfectly aligned apart from a key issue, and the system does not penalise it. And, as my example showed, it tells the successful candidate that their view on the point-of-difference is the one the electorate supports. To that extent, AV actually encourages diversity of opinion over FPTP.