Blog: Shrewsbury Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski has warned that changing Britain’s voting system could help extremists like the BNP. Frankly I’m not bothered whether we keep to first-past-the-post elections as favoured by Mr Kawczynski, or switch to what is known as the alternative vote (AV) system.

It just doesn’t figure on my list of concerns.

But what does worry me is the growth of extremism in its various forms.

And that will continue to grow no matter what sort of voting system we have.

Extremism has rich feeding grounds because many people – young and old alike – are disenchanted with politicians who they see as being out of touch with the real world and not standing up for them, their constituents.

When the expenses scandal broke, I was appalled that many MPs just didn’t appear to grasp the seriousness of the situation or understand why there was so much public anger.

The damage to the reputation of parliament has been enormous.

Millions of people in this country have genuine, deep felt concerns over things like the war in Afghanistan which is a continuous drain on our resources (not to mention the horrendous loss of life), immigration levels, the future of pensions, and violent crime.

They feel helpless, that their voice is not heard, that little is being done to address their worries by politicians who appear remote. For many the future looks bleak.

But extremists say that they are listening, that they can take strong, decisive action to improve the lot of those who feel disillusioned.

Extremists hold out hope to young Muslims who feel they are second class citizens in our society.

At the same time extremists can offer hope to the fearful white men and women who are convinced that the “British way of life” – or at least their picture of it – is fast disappearing.

A bill introducing a referendum on changing the voting system was passed with a majority of 59 in the House of Commons of Monday night.

The referendum looks set for May 5.

However it won’t matter what system we have as long as candidates at future elections have reputations for being honest, caring, and in touch with the public

That will help to overcome some the widespread apathy that exists and draw voters to the polling stations. Extremists won’t get a look in – whether it’s first-past-the-post or AV.