Energy Secretary Chris Huhne suggests the Yes to alternative vote campaign has lost, just hours before the referendum result is due in.

Mr Huhne - one the most vocal Yes campaigners - told the BBC that "if the boxes are anything like what I've seen it doesn't look good for the Yes cause".

Polls suggest voters will reject a switch from first-past-the-post, to AV where candidates are ranked in order of preference.

The result is expected around 2000 BST.

4.51pm: The first AV referendum results are in. And it looks as if the pollsters are not going to have too much to worry about.

Here they are, from the Isles of Scilly

Yes 288 (34.70%)
No 542 (65.30%)
No maj 254 (30.60%)
Electorate 1,737; Turnout 830 (47.78%)

Perhaps it was a Scilly question?

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II}

UK voters have rejected a change to the voting system - a major blow to Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg after heavy election losses.

Counting continues but more than 9.8m people have voted to keep first-past-the-post, more than 50% of votes cast.

The No campaign is on course get a decisive 69% of the vote - leading AV campaigner Chris Huhne conceded the rejection had been "overwhelming".

As expected then.

Sweden's finest (and perhaps only) collaborative, leftist e-newspaper Synapze.se