Katie Ghose appointed new Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society

The press notice from the Electoral Reform Society says:

Katie Ghose has served for 5 years as Director of the British Institute of Human Rights, a national charity with a mission to bring rights to life for everyone in the UK. A public affairs specialist and barrister with a background in human rights law and immigration, she served as a Commissioner on the Independent Asylum Commission from 2006-2008, where she helped to conduct the biggest ever indepedent review of the UK asylum system. She has worked in campaigns for several third sector organisations including Age UK (then Age Concern England ), where she was the Campaigns & Parliamentary Manager and Citizens Advice. Katie has delivered lectures, seminars and courses on campaigns and public affairs the UK for a range of charities, public bodies and lawyers.

On being appointed Katie Ghose said:

I join the Society at an exciting time. The coming referendum will be the first time the British people have had the opportunity to decide how they elect the politicians who speak in their name.

The year ahead will see a real national debate on the system that defines our politics. I look forward to working with the Society’s members, supporters, staff, trustees and all members of the ‘Yes campaign’ to deliver an historic victory for political reform and for British voters.

The “yes” campaign for the AV referendum is due to launch in the next fortnight:

The campaign to ditch Britain’s first-past-the-post electoral system in favour of the Alternative Vote will be “fun,” its organisers have promised.

James Graham, of Unlock Democracy, ruled out “angry” protests and “dirty tricks” in the push for a change to AV…

A number of organisations, including Unlock Democracy and the Electoral Reform Society, have been campaigning for years to scrap Britain’s first-past-the-post electoral system but they will be coming together to form a new body to campaign for a change to AV.

Mr Graham denied they will be in danger of tripping over each other, saying they had been meeting regularly since the election and “so far it has been quite coherent”.

He said the Yes to AV campaign was also keen to counter the impression that it will be a Liberal Democrat “front” organisation – stressing it will be a cross-party, non-partisan organisation and not run out of the Lib Dems’ Cowley Street headquarters as some bloggers have claimed. [BBC]

The “yes” campaign will not, however, be using Yes2AV.org.