AS well as the Kirklees Council election, voters will also have the chance to take part in a referendum on the electoral system tomorrow.

They will be able to vote ‘yes’ to bring in the Alternative Vote (AV), or ‘no’ to keep the current system.

At the moment, MPs are elected under first-past-the-post, where voters put an ‘X’ next to one candidate’s name. The candidate with the most votes wins – even if they don’t have majority support.

Under AV, voters can rank candidates 1,2,3 etc. If no candidate wins 50% of the vote, lower-ranking candidates are eliminated and their preferences redistributed until one candidate has a majority.

Kirklees leader Clr Mehboob Khan expects a “massive” vote against AV tomorrow.

The Labour man said: “We’ve canvassed thousands of people in the last few weeks and I’ve only come across two people who were enthusiastic for the change.

“People of all political backgrounds and social classes agree that they do not wish to see a change from the present system.

“I think the local result will go massively against AV.”

Labour is divided on the referendum, with party leader Ed Miliband and around half his MPs urging a ‘yes’ vote.

However, many senior party figures, including John Reid and Margaret Beckett are backing the ‘no’ campaign.

Tomorrow’s referendum is part of the coalition deal between the Lib Dems and the Conservatives following last year’s general election.

Clr Kath Pinnock, who leads the Lib Dems on Kirklees, believes opinion is swinging in favour of a ‘yes’ vote in the closing stages of the campaign.

She said: “In the last 10 days a lot of people have been asking our canvassers to help them understand AV. When it’s explained to them, they’ve been convinced.”