Comedian Eddie Izzard joins Alternative Vote debate

Comedian Eddie Izzard has appealed for Welsh voters to opt for the alternative voting system.

In a Radio Wales interview on Sunday, Izzard claimed a yes vote in Thursday's referendum would mean "MPs have to work harder for us."

"We should go for the alternative voting system. It's very simple, it's just 1, 2, 3," he said.

But former Welsh secretary Paul Murphy said AV would not make elections fairer or make MPs work harder.

Actor/comedian Izzard, due at a campaign event in Cardiff Bay, said the proposed system would get rid of tactical voting and reflect "multicoloured" voters.

"It also gets rid of tactical voting, it makes MPs work harder for us because they'll have to not only go for their core vote but work around it.

"Labour voters have been looking both ways. I think our politics...back in the 50s, they were very simply Labour or Tory and now it's multicoloured," he said.

"So if you're living in a place that's a safe seat and it's not of your colour, like my father who lives in a Tory stronghold, for the first time he'll be able to vote Labour first choice and then put second choice Lib Dem if he wanted to.

"It gives politics back to the people and I think it's better."

Torfaen MP Paul Murphy, who is campaigning for a No vote on Thursday, said the alternative voting system would not give voters the fairness they were hoping for.

"I think people should vote and of course I'm going to argue very strongly that they should vote no," said the Labour MP.

"It's not a clear system and it's not a proportional system either. I can understand people wanting a proper proportional system at elections - PR - this isn't that and it doesn't give any of the so-called benefits of that.

"It's not decisive and it certainly will do nothing to make MPs work harder."

He added that both the Yes and No campaigns had been "unedifying".

"I think some of the stuff has been terrible on both sides to be perfectly honest," he said.

"I think part of the problem is that it's quite difficult to engage people in what could be seen as quite dry constitutional issues."