On Thu, 19 Mar 2009 at 00:33:24, JNugent  
wrote in uk.politics.electoral :
>
>> Your "if" never happens.
>> It may be the case, under FPTP, that someone with only 35% of the
>> votes gets elected.
>> Under AV, the winning candidate (whether he/she is the same candidate
>> as the FPTP winner or not) would always get at least 50% of the
>> (valid, continuing) votes, and could not possibly get fewer votes than
>> the FPTP winner would.
>
>Don't be daft.
>
>Someone who gets less than 35% (ie, less than the winning candidate, 
>who gets 35%) cannot be said to get more than 50%.

ISTM that tactical voting under FPTP has a very similar effect to 
transferable voting systems - either way, it seems you end up with the 
least objectionable candidate, rather than necessarily the most 
effective.
-- 
Paul Hyett, Cheltenham