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On 10-11th May a minority of Labour MPs fought fiercely to scupper a possible Lib-Lab alliance and - lest we should forget - to scupper PR based on ‘AV plus'. They succeeded.

What's important at the moment is that those like us who favour PR stay cool and look at different strategies. In going to the largest party first, Clegg has followed commonly accepted political practice.

People in the main parties are talking and listening and we still don't know whether Nick will turn left or right. But the effect of his decision will change British politics for decades.

We are at a historic moment. The British people have spoken: they don't want a monopoly government, based on the support of less than a quarter of the electorate. In a hung parliament you either reach agreement with others or you and they walk into the wilderness.

Compass members led the way by endorsing honest tactical voting - where in nearly 8 out of 10 target seats we are asking Liberal Democrats and other progressive voters to back the Labour candidate against the Tory challenge. Instead of nods and winks we then took the logical, sensible, but difficult step of calling on Labour voters to back the best placed progressive in marginal seats where Labour doesn't stand a chance.

There was an excellent piece by John Harris in The Guardian (Monday 19 April) spelling out what needs to happen to get a hung Parliament and a PR outcome on the 6th of May - as indeed by Polly Toynbee today (20 April). First, the Conservatives must not get in - which means voting for whichever candidate can stop the Tory in your constituency.

Now, more than ever before, Britain has a plural politics. In the last general election, smaller parties received a record one-third of the vote. And in last year's Euro-elections, where the proportional system meant that votes for smaller parties were more likely to be counted, that figure rose to well over half. And yet we are stuck with an electoral system which evolved in a time of two-party politics.

So with parliament accepting Jack Straw's amendment for a referendum to be held on changing the electoral system to the Alternative Vote what are the prospects for democratic renewal?

News that MPs will be asked to vote next week on whether to hold a referendum on electoral reform is a great result for all those who have tirelessly campaigned on this issue over recent weeks. Labour MPs should now throw their weight behind the call for change.

The Parliamentary Labour Party will meet tonight and discuss whether the government should legislate for a referendum on Electoral Reform. There are moves afoot to block this proposal. Compass believes that Electoral Reform is an important step in building a politics of democracy and equality.