It was clear early on that the No campaign were heading for victory Saturday, May 7, 2011
Cable attacks 'ruthless' Tories
It was clear early on that the No campaign were heading for victory David Cameron and Nick Clegg have said it is time to "move on" after the UK's decisive rejection of a change to the way MPs are elected to Westminster.
The prime minister said Britain needed a "good, strong, decisive government" and the coalition would continue.
Mr Clegg admitted the results were "a bitter blow" for Lib Dems but insisted his party would "pick ourselves up".
As well as the AV defeat, the Lib Dems suffered a rout in English local election and lost support in Scotland.
The party lost around 700 councillors - more than a third of the seats they were defending - in England - and 12 of its 17 MSPs at Holyrood, where the SNP scored an historic victory.
Officials say 19.1m people voted in the second UK-wide referendum in history - a higher than expected turnout of 41%.
The final referendum result put the Yes vote at 32.1% and the No vote at 67.9%.
Mr Clegg said the results were "really disappointing" but the party was "going to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and move on".
"The wider job of the government and the Liberal Democrats in government will continue - to repair the economy, to restore a sense of prosperity and jobs and optimism to the country. That's the job that we have started and we will see it through," he said.
Analysis
A debate that was often about the complexity of electoral systems ended in the simplest of results.
The No campaign won, overwhelmingly.
The rush to attribute blame, or grab the credit for that result, begins here.
Those who favoured the Yes campaign will argue they were defeated by the Prime Minister's campaigning power, a largely hostile press and a tough opposing campaign.
Those who backed a No vote will say they won the argument for the merits of the status quo, and persuaded people the alternative vote was complex and unnecessary.
The voters, of course, needed only to mark crosses on ballot papers. They did not have to explain their reasoning.
So campaigners who devoted months of their lives to this argument will never know what difference, if any, they made to the result.
Read Ross's thoughts in fullMr Cameron said the referendum campaign had been "difficult" for the government but the UK had given a "clear and resounding answer".
"I believe that what the British people want us to do now is to provide a good, strong, decisive government in the long-term national interest of this country, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats working together.
"That is what we have been for this last year and that is what we are going to be for the rest of this Parliament," he said.
Grassroots calls for Mr Clegg to be removed as leader have been slapped down by senior Lib Dem figures at Westminster, including his deputy Simon Hughes, who said Mr Clegg was "personally and politically as strong as when he joined the government".
BBC political correspondent Gary O'Donoghue said instead there is significant pressure to conduct the coalition in a different way - making clear the distinction between the two parties and holding out for big concessions in areas such as health, taxation and reform of the House of Lords.
"The question now facing David Cameron is whether he acquiesces and offers the Lib Dems more in order to shore up the position of the coalition, or whether he takes the view that, given how weakened his partners are, they're in no position to demand anything," our correspondent said.
Meanwhile, the Scottish National Party are preparing for a second term in government in Edinburgh, but this time with an overall majority.
With all results in, the SNP had 69 seats, Labour 37, the Tories 15, the Lib Dems five, and others three.
Alex Salmond's party - which humbled Labour in one of its traditional heartlands - is expected to hold a referendum on Scottish independence towards the end of its term.
Labour made significant gains in town halls in the north of England and in the Welsh assembly elections, where it fell just short of an absolute majority.
Mr Cameron said voters' rejection of AV was "clear and resounding"
Labour also held Leicester South in a Parliamentary by-election with an increased majority, although the Lib Dems hung on to second place.
Sir Peter Soulsby, whose decision to stand down triggered the contest, won the race to be Leicester mayor.
Labour leader Ed Miliband - who backed AV despite the opposition of more than half of his MPs - insisted the party's strong showing in English councils and the Welsh Assembly showed it was "coming back" after its bad performance in last year's general election.
The Conservatives, who already controlled more councils than all the other parties put together, have increased their number of councillors and gained control of two councils.
In Northern Ireland, The DUP and Sinn Fein are expected to remain the biggest parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly, but there has been controversy over the system for counting votes.
The SNP's victory in Scotland is the first time any party has achieved a majority since the 129-seat Scottish Parliament was established in 1999.
Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray said he would stand down in the autumn.
In Wales, Labour won 30 assembly seats, one short of the 31 needed to gain an overall majority.
The Conservatives made gains, but Plaid Cymru and the Lib Dems suffered losses.
According to the Electoral Commission, 6,152,607 voted Yes to the Alternative Vote, while 13,013,123 voted No.
This article is from the BBC News website. � British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-politics-13320029
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