Britain looks set to reject change to voting system

BRITISH voters looked set yesterday to reject a change in the way they elect their MPs as they cast their ballots in a national referendum that has threatened to tear the ruling coalition apart.

Bitter campaigning for the vote opened up a rift between the Conservative party and the Liberal Democrats just one year after they joined forces in an unlikely political marriage.

Opinion polls indicate a landslide win for the campaign led by Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron to keep Britain’s long-standing first past the post system, in which the candidate with the most votes wins.