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I don't understand the opposition to the Alternative Vote. In my opinion it is the best possible option. Better than both first past the post AND proportional voting. You guys should consider yourselves lucky you get to vote on such an option. Don't for a moment that voting for AV will make whatever your favored voting system harder to happen. It'll just make it more likely that nothing will ever change.

So as long as folks are making numbered lists:

1. It'll reduce tactical voting - There are plenty of voters who would love to vote Green or LibDem or whoever but feel they are "throwing their vote away" so make a tactical decision to pick the "least bad' option of the two major parties. These people aren't being fairly represented.
2. It keeps the connection between MP and their district. They aren't picked out of a hat by party leadership based on a national vote total, they actually represent their community, which is how representative democracy is supposed to work.
3. Right now plenty of MPs get elected with less than 50% of the vote (most of them perhaps). That doesn't represent their communities. AV ensures that even if their MP isn't everyone's first choice, he was 2nd or 3rd choice on enough people's ballots to enjoy majority support. This makes them far better representative of their voters.
4. It helps minor parties, but in a more natural way than PR.
5. PR would probably hurt regional parties like SNP, Plaid Cymru, etc.
6. While not AV, equalizing the districts sounds like a good thing too.

I don't see what's not to like about this. You guys should definitely vote for this.