THE Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich has given his support to the call for a new voting system in Britain, it has emerged.

The Rt Rev Nigel Stock has endorsed the Yes to Fairer Votes campaign which supports a change in the way MP’s are elected to power.

In May voters will be offered the chance to change from the current First Past the Post system, with many favouring the alternative vote system.

The Rt Rev Stock said he is in favour of a system which encourages more people to turn up and vote at elections.

He said: “I was asked my opinion and I gave it.

“Generally I feel that alternative voting does give a chance for people’s votes to be counted and I think it will encourage greater participation in elections.

“My greatest anxiety is a poor turnout at elections and my hope is that if people feel their vote will not be wasted and there is more chance of something you are hoping for, it will have an affect.

“I see alternative voting as encouraging people to vote and that is very important in a democracy.”

The alternative vote would involve voters scoring their top three candidates rather than picking just one.

For an MP to gain a seat in Parliament they would have to gain the support of at least 50% of their constituents.

Katie Ghose, chair of the Yes campaign, said: “We welcome this act of leadership in the referendum debate.

“This debate is bigger than party politics.

“This is an opportunity to decide what kind of politics we want, it’s time for people to speak and for politicians to sit and listen.”