The people of Redbridge have overwhelmingly rejected the alternative vote system.

Less than a third of voters said they wanted the system, where candidates are listed in order of preference.

The majority, 42,717 people, which equates to 67.5 per cent of those who voted, said they wanted to keep the current first past the post system.

The referendum results were announced this evening in Redbridge Town Hall, High Road, Ilford, following yesterday’s nationwide vote.

There were 135 spoiled ballot papers and the turnout was 32.9 per cent.

Projections suggest the country has rejected the alternative vote system by 69 per cent to 31 per cent.

Welcoming the result, council leader Cllr Keith Prince told the Recorder: “It’s what I was expecting.

“To go down the alternative vote route would give us a succession of coalition governments… it makes politics stale.

“Whether you like or don’t like the British system, most of the time it means that there is one outright winner.

“People get the government they vote for.”