More Britons back new voting system than oppose - poll

LONDON (Reuters) - More voters support the introduction of a new voting system than oppose it, the first Reuters/Ipsos MORI poll on the alternative vote shows.

The poll, published on Thursday, shows a third of Britons feel they have been affected by public spending cuts and three-quarters believe they will be in the year to come as the government rolls back the state to save money.

Voters will be asked on May 5 whether they want a new electoral system, known as the Alternative Vote, to replace the current first-past-the-post method.

Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party opposes change to the system but promised to put it to the popular vote as part of concessions offered last year to persuade the smaller Liberal Democrats to join them in coalition.

"The Reuters/Ipsos MORI Political Monitor shows that among those who are certain to vote half (49 percent) support adopting the Alternative Vote system while 37 percent are against it," said Ipsos MORI's Helen Cleary.

"The remaining 13 percent are not sure which way they would vote -- there are still plenty of votes to be won for both the 'Yes' and 'No' campaigns."

Cameron has insisted that disagreement at the heart of government about the reform will not sink the coalition but one party will inevitably end up damaged by the results.

A 'Yes' vote would provide a much-needed fillip for Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, whose popularity has plummeted since his party joined government.

February's Reuters/Ipsos MORI poll showed voters' concerns about the economy continued to rise, while support for the government's plans to cut spending ebbed.

Just under half of those surveyed (48 percent) agreed on the need to cut spending on public services to pay off the country's debt, compared to 56 percent at the end of last year.

Over a third said they had already been affected by cuts, with women, low-paid and public sector workers saying they had been most affected.

The Ipsos MORI Economic Optimism Index fell to its lowest level since February 2009.

Voting intention figures were unchanged from January, with the Conservatives on 33 percent, Labour on 43 percent and the Liberal Democrats on 13 percent.