winds, 7 miles an hour. 26 feels like 19 and westminster.emperatures cooling down to 27. 30 degrees in bel air. yesterday had freezing air overnight. abeardin. you will go back to snow shortly. then the issue around the bay. yes, you had freezing rain. 29, will go to snow pretty quickly. that helps to melt some of the snow. then you have a sloppy mess that will refreeze. the temperatures will drop in the 20s. so we have a different situation that sets up, depending on the official temperatures right now. again, we expect things to rephrase where it was wet. that's when you build of an ice issue. you will get heavy blowing, drifting snow as well. 38 esh issues. they can be pushing 60 miles an hour winds in ocean city. the waves are cracking 15-20 feet offshore and beach erosions. we get to the 20s and teens. it was snow and stayed all snow. those are the places that will get close to feed at the regular system. wind chills are knocking into the 20s. we'll be pushing single digit wind chills this afternoon in the area. maryland's doppler radar

. >> westminster -- >> ralph in westminster called in, says there's two inches of snow coming down so far. he said it was coming down so hard and furious it was like confection sugar. a quick two inches in westminster and that's what happens with snowstorms my friends. they dump more in one spot versus the other. go back to that. 29 degrees and winds only pushed 12 miles per hour the real wind with the storm is going to actually pick up, tomorrow. when the real heavy snow is tomorrow morning. let's give you an idea of how the clouds progressed in nearby mount airy. you can see it got dark and the snow actually built in over the last couple of hours. cutting down our visibility. we have one more loop here just to show you that the clouds have been racing in. they've been lowering and thickening, finally producing the snow in the last couple of hours. >>> if you trop one millie bar for 24 hours it's considered a bomb. this is going to drop 25 millibars between now and this time tomorrow. what that creates this concavity or bowl in the atmosphere, everything has to race in to fill into t

. >> fog in westminster. ralph called me 5 .1 inches in westminster branch of the stormcenter. 29 degrees right now light winds out of the north, northeast. stevenson, opening campuses at 11:00 a.m., 30 degrees nearby pikesville my mother-in-law called 4.5 inches. i trained her well. she has thermometers and rulers. thanks carroll she is a confirmed weather observer. the parking lot, veterans elementary 27 degrees. the storm is departing we have an average of 3 to 5 inches of snow across the area. coming in with some snow showers back to mountains and a flurry back there towards hagers town. we may have a passing flurry but turning partly sunny. much larger storm. this will catch up with an energetic jet stream and this will cause problems for us late friday into saturday. too early to say what we will get. we know it will be a big impact this will cause severe weather across the deep south. a lot of moisture if you melt it all down, 2 inches if it were all rainfall but it is snow and maybe sleet mixed in fri

we have this from westminster. >> even at those from the house of parliament and the house of commons have been dragged into the scandal. but there were some cases where police thought mort serious investigation was required to see if any laws had been broken. they handed six files to prosecutors who have now announced their decision. >> these files been reviewed very carefully by senior prosecuting lawyers. they were assisted where necessary by a highly experienced criminal qc. in four cases we have concluded there is sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges and is in the public interest to charge the individuals concerned. >> the mp's and one member of the house of lords of fay's accounting charges. did it too expensive claims such as mortgage payments, hotel bills, and if found guilty, they can face up to seven years in jail. but they denied doing anything wrong. >> i knew -- i was certain allegations had been made. the new allegations need to be investigated. this was the custom in the house of commons. >> any politician -- no politician believes that the expense of fare can

westminster north it's completely slow. between howard county across baltimore city ever we've got snow to sleet to freezing rain and you across the bay and it goes back over to rain with temperatures in the mid-30s. we all go back to snow. don't worry about that. this storm is cranking up and pulling in colder air. it's just a matter of time. fort mead i said it should turn over and we'll increase that threat of heavy snow and wind as we go through the morning for everybody. anne arundel county you've got 5 inches in green haven. krofton has 4.8 in the ground. annapolis 1.8. check out where it stayed colder. wineboro, 10.4. the snow is coming back down make for sleet. westminster that was an old tally at 5 inches and throughout the morning we're going to give you more of these snow amounts but again we're dealing with the issue here where the snow will be filling back in across the rest of the area as cold air catches up with this storm and then we're going to have the issue of the blowing and drifting snow. sticking with

you see 29 in westminster, 39 on kent island and 32 in annapolis. so things will start to melt down on anything not treated. and if it's not treated, we hope to see improvement with the daytime high of about 39 degrees. >>> we're going to see a decent amount of sunshine today. no real wind chill today. so the weather gets on out of here and now we turn our attention to high pressure that will deliver us a shot of cold air and watch gathering the moisture to the south. we could be as tim and i discussed about a half hour ago looking at a possible nor'easter coming in friday and saturday. and that will be no fun to be honest. 39 degrees will be the high. clouds break for some sun. tonight mainly clear and seasonably and overnight low of 26. tomorrow mostly sunny with a high of 40 degrees. and over this five day, there's a window of opportunity for some potential problems here friday afternoon night and into saturday. clearing out sunday and mon, but the temperatures back into the low 30s. >>> how is the rush right now? here is sharon? >>> good morning

ralph in westminster said he didn't think it would turn over. he said it's a heavy wet snow and it hasn't turned to light fluffy stuff yet. that's really important and let's see if i can pull this back. rather than going in locally. i want to show you what our radar is actually showing as this storm system right here off of the coast is getting organized. watch these bands. this is interesting. you can see these bands pushing up to the north. you can see this heavy stuff pushing back inland and see the cold air beginning to wrap around there. do you see the heavy bands and let's follow this one pushing it sale towards the coast. that's the cold air that will turn everything back over to snow across the area. temperatures right now really on that border from 32 in easton to 30 in baltimore. it's 20s back to the north and west. that's when we're expecting temperatures to drop. that's why if you're getting rain or freezing rain or some mixture we all go to snow at some point this morning and temperatures stay in the mid- 20s. the blizzard warning b

westminster, beltsville and craw all downward from 3 inches. we are now looking at this melting down and moving on out. we're now setting our sites on what is coming in our direction. for a little more on what's happening, we send it outside to bernadette woods. we talked about the 4.9 at bwi, putting us almost smack in the record books again. >> with that added to our season total, we are now 13th place for snowiest snowfall season. we're creeping up that list right now, and this weekend could add to that. i want to show you down to the southwest, the next storm's already taking shape, bringing a lot of rain to texas. that storm will track across the south and then move in our direction. for us, we think it could be a sleet/snow combo in the beginning and southern parts of the region, more of a rain mix. so we could see a little bit of everything at the beginning of the storm then changing over to snow. it could be a significant snowfall accumulation starting friday continuing into saturday. now, as far as the numbers go, i want to show you th

more on that later. 30 degrees right now in westminster. looking at the eastern shore, generally in the 30's. clouds and sun to run the rest of the afternoon. no showers north and west of us. -- throughout the rest of the afternoon. we should be pretty clear tonight. 42 is where we should be, our normal high. 56 is the record high. in contrast, four degrees is the record low. tonight, mostly things will be clear. but with those clear skies, the temperatures will drop. 21 in the outlying areas, 27 downtown. high pressure will be building in here. we are concerned about friday. there is low pressure in the gulf producing copious amounts of rainfall. all of this energy moving up the mid-atlantic and midwest. it is too early to commit to any storm totals four types of precipitation, but at this point, it looks like there will be a lot of energy. we are forecasting a major weather event of some sort. we just do not want to get lost in any accumulation totals at this point. tomorrow will be sunny. here is a look at the seven-day. just a pair for

330 in elk ton and easton. 33 hagerstown, 34dc, 32 pax river, elk ton upper 20s, 30 bel air, 29 westminster, 31 columbia, 32 rock hall, kent island 33, annapolis 34. before the break we covered the advancing storm. this is going to be a pretty big one, however, you know, it's not like we haven't done this twice before this season. i think the temperatures over the next couple days are kind of critical to the story as the low gets out of here and high pressure builds in. sun comes out, it stays cold, we will not have to deal with a melt and refreeze, we move the snow before it tries to turn to ice. 37 will be the high early on, heavy snow tonight, snow in the afternoon, tonight 25. heavy snow early on tomorrow, by lunch it's over. cloudy, windy, colder, 30 in the afternoon. quickly, can we bring in first warning doppler weather radar? you see this band of heavy rain down over the south florida panhandle, portions of sought east alabama, northwest georgia that's what's coming in tonight. that's going to be the heavy snowfall after dark. let's look at the five-day. once we get below freezing t

out toward westminster we have report of two inches on the ground. that's all headedder our way. for all of the state tonight looks like snow heavier through the night and sleet mixing in from the route 50 bridge eastward. talk more detail coming up in a few. now the latest on the roads. >> now the crashes are starting to come in. fortunately they are mostly on the side roads. major roadways still opened. all lanes opened on the beltway. no problems on the inner and outer loop. 95 with volume and congestion in both directions. baltimore county is where they are coming in. eastbound lanes at old court road a crash there. liberty road again falls road southbound. northbound lanes of falls road past mount caramel road. multiple cars in ditches. take your time as the road conditions get worse visibility gets reduced. it is hard to tell how slick the roads are when you apply brakes. take your time on the way home. as we take a peak let's look at the jfx. volume heavy. people are driving at reduced speeds. it is looking good as you make your way out of downtown headed up towards the be

we are factoring in temperatures. 28 common theme from westminster to luterville. edge mere at 30. then you cross the bay. it is 34 in centerville. >> surface temperatures are cold enough to support everything coming down. it is not like we are sitting in the mid 30s. >> we have just done this fire drill over the weekend. it looks like some people learned their lesson. don't go anywhere. we just did this. let the storm do its thing. hopefully you have supplies. we have doppler radar we are tracking where the rain, snow, sleet line is. we'll track winds and blizzard conditions tomorrow. >> excellent point with. 'll be back in a few more with more on the storm. now back to the news desk. >>> i think people are in a hurry to try to get home as quickly as possible. folks you have to take your time. road conditions are continuing to deteriorate by the minute. visibility is becoming greatly reduced. reduce those speeds as you make your way home. falls road northbound after mount caramel road multiple cars into ditches. as you are making your way on the side streets and secondary roads th

but westminster and almost in to baltimore now approaching route 892 some light flurries.blem we have now the snow is gone is a lot of low level moisture. that is allowing fog to form. visibilities are actually up to an 1/8 of a mile at dulles. they had been zero. and now up to a mile and 3/4 at the air park in montgomery county. improving conditions. the storm is leaving. little piece of energy in ohio and pennsylvania giving us a little activity we have got right now. it will be passing through washington over the next hour with light flurries or snow shower. temperatures running upper 20s in culpeper. most areas in the lower 30s we will get some melting today and some sunshine and partly sunny later on. the clouds are slow to break and high temperatures 40, 41, 42. angie goff, happy wednesday. >> yes, happy wednesday to you and everybody who's joining us early this morning. we still have an accident on the bw parkway. it is heading southbound here at 202. we are slow approaching the scene. we know drivers are losing the right lane. we are tracking more crash activity. t

temperatures, low of 30's, a 31 at the airport, 32 in westminster. dry and cold this morning. by 11:00 and we will have sleet or snow develop. we're will have been mixed with sweet, cutting down on a snowfall totals today. snow is going to pick up tonight angeles saturday. it will be heavy. clinton will pick up. tapering saturday evening. total accumulations by saturday evening, up 19 inches. most will be in the upper teens range. the worst of the storm will be late tonight into saturday morning. we will talk more about this when i come back in a few minutes. let's talk to sarah caldwell. >> i don't look for food or sled until after it starts snowing. i am not a risk taker. the major roads are looking good. not dealing with anything significant in terms of delays. southbound 95 coming out of the northeast is a little sluggish. the j.f.x. is in great shape. west side moving without delay. 11 minutes on the outer loop northeast side. 12 minutes on the west side of an. seven minutes on a 95 south from a 95 towards the harbor tunnel. if you are traveling on 95 at white marsh, it's

tiny town had 7 inches westminster an older report of 5 inches. waiting for an update of that one as well. a lot of reports are from the official spotters in the national weather service and that's how we can delegate from some people who want to top the list and stick their ruler in a snow drift. it's somewhat legitimate in some areas. inches. randalls town 5. parksville came in with 3.3. that parkville was last night just before 11:00. that's why i 79 the plus there. i know they turned over from katrina to sleet. likely we have more than that. likely we'll double that. the big gamete comes clamoring down on us as we headed through today as the coastal storm. same story aberdeen. aberdeen as expected you turn to that freezing rain and sleet, want to point out cecil county 7.3. elton at 6. and stevensville had 2.5. you had rain. you will go back to snow. this is maryland's most powerful doppler radar highlighting where we have really heavy stuff. that's really stuff back to our west. the yellow shading. if it's not sleet, this is snow coming down

a little chilly in parts of westminster. we will have our heaviest spot up there.but we are still talking to inches or 4 inches. as we head into late morning, snow showers are moving out. even western maryland may take some earlier tomorrow morning. it is mostly a cloudy morning. you cannot rule out a passing flurry. temperatures to start the day are 21 degrees. it will be slick in the morning. notice tonight we have to weather systems coming through. this one is off the carolina coast. a weaker version is up to the west. these are both coming at this but in different branches of the jet stream. the one for friday and saturday but said it will be slightly different. -- looks like it will be slightly different. as we get deeper in the week, and these are going to emerge as they come into the middle of the country. those may end of the much more powerful storm then the sector moving through by now. it will be critical as we go to the next couple of days. this could be coming into some cold air. the skies cleared up tomorrow. i think we will see some sunshine on thurs

westminster, that's a 5-inch plus. i put that because that's an old report.i have this latest update from the weather service coming at the top of the hour. some of the reports were taken last night. westminster definitely has more than 5 inches on the ground even though you have some sleet and freezing rain. baltimore county, and randalstown at 5 inches. parkville came in with 3.3. again, that was an old total. i believe that will be updated when they get the list. rossville, made the list, at 3 inches. they have piled up 5.25. charleston checking in with five inches. we will probably add to the list. we may have added more but we had some rain in the spots that come tacted. it will be really difficult to give you the final total. it looks like the freezing rain get back to snow. that's going to be an issue for the day. elseburg-- perry hall and edgeway at 29. look at the eastern shore. it's plain old drizzle there at 33. they cut off the precipitation. once it builds back in, it should turn over to snow quickly as the snow -- waiting for the carolina county

round 140 and westminster, a tractor-trailer and several cars. state police have been doing a lot of work out there, as have our state highys. i want to thank the people of maryland for heeding the warnings and staying off the roads. with regard to power outages, w stand now at approximately 17,000. if you've been watching the map with us here at the emergency operations center, you notice that in montgomery county, the number of power outages have come greatly down while the number has spiked in northeast maryland where we've seen in cecil county and the upper shore some of the heaviest snowfall and therefore no doubt greatest numbers of fallen trees, fallen branches and the other things affecting the power lines. so in cecil county, we've seen 7,400 power outages with regard to customers that are out of power. we're working to help them as quickly as we can. salt supply, as you know, much of the salt supply was running low. we've had to redeploy. fortunately, the problem was in the distribution of that supply during these whiteout and blizzard

if temperatures are 31 in catonsville, 32 in westminster, 35 downtown.re's a big area of high pressure in our neighborhood, which is a good thing. it's blocking the storm for the time being. the storm has just come out of the gulf of mexico. it is just starting to get going. eventually the high-pressure will go away. the storm is going to win later this morning. >> is when the snow is going to fall. maybe 10, or 11:00 this morning is when it will begin to fall in baltimore. difficult time when the atmosphere will saturate. there are returns on the radar, so it's hard to tell when that will start hitting the ground. later this morning or early this afternoon we will see some snow developing. certainly by this afternoon. there might be sleet mixing in especially south of baltimore. 1-3 inches will be on the ground by this evening. the evening commute will be separate. temperatures will be above freezing. that will local on the roadways. the worst of the storm will happily tonight into early saturday morning. heavy snow at times overnight. you could have th

spots. 3 to 5 surrounding outlying area of the metropolitan area. 3 to 5 , including annapolis and westminster. two to four on the eastern shore. and then back toward parts of western maryland, hagerstown. but this is the possibility of what we can see. we have already got 3 inches on the ground out there right now. storm departs. watching the next one on the way. get a break with high pressure for thursday. but then this storm is potentially a big storm. kinds of like what we saw back before christmas. it could be a big snow maker. so we have to watch this one very he closely. as we get into friday night. and then into saturday. but tonight looking at snow coming down at a good pace. 31 degrees. and then on five-day forecast. shows the snow leaving mid-morning, afternoon. clear skies thursday. 41. 35 friday night. we have to watch this next storm coming in. possibly a big storm. with a high of 33 on saturday. and then it will get out of here sunday. keep you posted on that potential next big one. back to you. >> all right. thank you. >> keeping track of all the school delays and cancellations

around 2 and 2500th of an inch in westminster. so large system is in the region right now.ust a bit of some history. are we going to beat the total, a record from the snowfall? we could. so taking you back. trying to beat 28.2 inches, february 15, 2003. the second largest historic snowfall was 26.5 inches back in 1922. 22.8 inches in 1983, and 22.5 inches in 1996. so on the future scan. we will experience the heaviest snowfall totals overnight tonight. we can see right around 2 inches of snowfall per hour. and right around 3 a.m. is really when we get high in intensity with the snowfall totals. as the low pressure inches closer to our region. and then the back side of the low pressure system, very windy conditions. and that is what is allowing for blizzard conditions in the early morning hours. by saturday at 5:00, start to see the low pressure pull out. and high pressure system is done with cold conditions for sunday. for tonight, 28. heavy snow showers. and tomorrow, continuing with the intensity of the snow showers. 29 degrees. temperatures are not going to deviate all t

temperatures will get slightly above freezing at the start of the storm. 31 in westminster and lutherville will see it during the early afternoon when it comes in. bowie 33. that could be coming in late morning. we'll watch this stuff. really tough to pick out the time frame. the first signs picking up here. trying to draw a line where it is reaching the ground in southwestern virginia and comes in our direction from southwest to northeast. our general time frame between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. give or take a two. a lot of energy, tremendous amount of moisture across the gulf coast itself. we're watching a very active jet stream combine forces with the snow mitching with sleet during the afternoon. that could cut down on initial snowfall tallies. some periods of heavy sleet around baltimore across the bay to the eastern shore staying all snow west you'll get higher tallies. we all go to snow overnight. 28 degree business daybreak. some of you wake up with a foot on the ground at daybreak tomorrow. then a wide range of heavy snow continuing throughout the day on saturday. let's get that ch

sternburg, though, was located in westminster county and is said to be fine today. >>> we're waitingr a group of american church workers held in haiti will be charged with child traffiing. the group is mostly from idaho. they are being held on accusations they tried to take 33 children to an orphanage in the dominican republic. they said they thought they had all the pauperwork they needed as well ashe spermission from the surviving parents of the children. but the haitian government say that members of the group knew right. >> may have been deceived by someone coming to us and saying the parents are dead, please take our child because we're taking them --çó we have a beautiful place for them to go. >> the group insists they were doing the right thing, that they just wanted to pep thehelp thes >>> the senate is now officially condemning cyberattacks against google in china. last night, senators approved a resolution that urges china to investigate and explain theÑ@ co e-mail attacks. google has threatened to pull out of china because of the cyber attacks and because of censorship iss

ten inches of snow and you have seen westminster to the pennsylvania border heavy bands of snow now.oming up from columbia to baltimore, as well. we are seeing heavy snow. and look at this knot of chantilly. route 28 south of dulles heavy snow, as well. this is extending back to fairfax and vienna here in fairfax county. this snow will be more than an inch an hour rate. you see the purple popping up between chantilly and dulles. a lot of areas are experiencing light to moderate snow and kristin fisher gets a gold star from me for noticing the snow going from a wetter to drier snow and that will help to pump up the snow total and help with the blowing and drifting. it will be a fluffier snow from now on for areas north and west of us washington. here's devon lucie. >> the lighter, drier snow stacks up higher because the fluffier snow doesn't compact like a heavier, wetter snow would out there. we have blizzard warnings, north, northwest and east of washington now. the immediate washington metro are not in the blizzard warnings. they will go in to affect at 10:00. east of anne arundel

, that area reports 1 to 2 inches here from martinsburg from middletown and myersville and also westminster is heavy snow. you see this purple stuff, that's pretty heavy. even the dark blue is moderate snow. pretty good snow as you go up 270 and eventually into frederick. we also have some heavier bands down to the south. and this is where we are going to watch the transition and just see, you know, exactly how much is going to change the sleet. we talked about it mixing to sleet, which is one reason why we are giving such a wide range. wood bridge, we

written with% go, crews have cold war of an american adversary 2006, which received the duke of westminster's bubble for literature. he has just finished. he and his about to announce i gather an exhibit on watergate, which as he is curated it at the nixon museum, which will be on intense interest. and they will all be there and i hope you would get a chance to see the exhibit. he will be much discussed. in 2007, his volume on george h. debbie bush appeared in the american president. so i've asked east of our distinguished historians to cite a few minutes just discussing their particular president, their particular volume, what led them to write it, what was interesting about it, anything you'd like to save for the next five minutes or so starting with you, jerry. >> most of us can go a whole week -- [inaudible] i forgive you because i too for a long time shared not a disinterest but you know, there were certainly more exciting people that i wanted to write about. it's not exactly every historians trained to be invited to write about john tyler. although in this case. .. but i did have someth

you will be traveling of lake drive and grande valley road in westminster, an accident possibly involvingthe inner loop right at white marsh, debris on the road. southbound charles, left turn lane is blocked by sup on construction, and an accident still being worked on at 198 in howard county. a live you in a couple of spots. 50, coming from the eastern shore, moving very well eastbound and westbound on the bay bridge this morning. white marsh is not too bad. we are moving well. now let's get a check on the snowy forecast. >> good morning, everyone. the storm is now just beginning to move into our neighborhood and will catch up to us later this morning and into the afternoon. light snow showers and fleurs could developments lunchtime. let's take a look at the forecast. 1 inch to 3 inches on the ground most likely by the evening commute. temperatures will be above freezing, so that will help a bit of the roadways. and tonight, snow intensifies. i would not be surprised if you heard thunder and saw light and over that stretch. then everything will taper off by 6:00 or 7:00 this evening. 12

westminster, maryland, stopped on the line for republicans.to wonder why man like evan bayh says he does not love congress. for one year his party had a filibuster-proof majority and the republicans could not stop anything in the senate. the democrats controlled everything, and they still do. why does this man not love congress? he has not been there long enough. only 12 years, i think. and all the perks and pay and benefits provided to the united states senator, this man is set for life. so one must ask, why does not love congress. it -- is theç administration blocking his bills, is harry reid blocking the bills, those who want to go home to indiana and run their? what hasn't -- one has to ask why does a man with a state senate seat in a senate controlled by his party not of congress? host: joshed green -- josh greenman writes -- next up is gene from a long island. caller: evan bayh, what he did is he dropped out of the senate because he wanted to show a point they are not working together and they are doing everything so barack obama will w

since then manfred woerner, lee hamilton, the duke of westminster among those who've given this esteemedhaps you, admiral mullen can be persuaded to give a future one. as with this background i hope to have a better understanding how these traditions began. having left washington journal the family foundation on remain actively involved in two of washington's greatest institutions. csis led by the exceptionally talented john hamre and the center for the study of the presidency in the congress where i serve on the board of trustees. david continues to have an idea sometimes our board members the trustees will say to dave dave, don't you think we are doing a little too much, and i smiled to myself and chuckle inside, and i think got some things will never change. we have so much to address in the world today but we have some of the best and brightest at csis and ocs pc to do that. both organizations across the lessons of history to deal with today's challenges come all the time of moving forward with a fortitude and loyalty inspired by those who came before us. there is no better example o

since then lee hamilton, the duke of westminster among those who have given this esteemed lecture. perhaps admiral mullen can be persuaded to give a future one. i hope you have a better understanding of how these traditions began. having left washington to run our family foundation, i remain actively involved in two of washington's greatest institutions. csis, led by the exceptionally talented john hamre, and the center for the study of the presidency and congress where i serve on the board of trustees. there david continues to have an idea a minute. sometimes our board meetings a trustee will say to dave, now, dave, don't you think we're doing a little too much? and i just smile to myself and chuck can l inside, and i thank good that some things -- god that some things will never change. we have some of the best and the brightest at csis and cspc to do just that. both organizations grasp the lessons of history to deal with to the today's challenges, all the time moving forward with fortitude and loyalty inspired by those who came before us. there's no better an example of this spi

area and they are seen as one of the local leaders in that area as well as the representative in westminsterck to a time when mp's were so divorced from their constituency that often they never visited their constituencies and did not think that was an important part of their job. the proposal we put forward is essentially for a referendum to be held in 2011 on that system of voting as against the status quo. i think it is capable of commanding a lot of support across the house of commons as well as across the country. >> i think we all know there is no perfect electoral system. there are advantages and disadvantages of every kind of system. i am not exactly clear what is the problem to which the alternate vote is a solution? many people have always described it as replacing a system where the most popular person wins with a system where the least unpopular person wins. >> if i put it away, the person who wins has got in the end to command a majority of the people who are voting and therefore we do not have a situation where in some constituencies, i think in 1992 in inverness the winner got

as the local leaders and one of the local leaders in that area as well as a representative and westminster. we don't want to go back to a time when a priest was so devoid from their consistently that they didn't visit and didn't think that was an important part of the job. so i think the proposal we put forward which is essentially for a referendum to be held in 2011, and on that system it is a fair proposal and i think it's capable of commanding a lot of support across the house of commons as well as across the country's. >> we all know there is no perfect electoral system. there are advantages and disadvantages of every kind of system. and i am still not entirely clear though, what is the problem to which the alternative vote is the solution? because many people have always described it as being replacing a system where the most popular person wins or the system with the least unpopular person wins? >> if i may put the ugly, the person who wins has got any into command a majority of the people who are voting. and therefore, you don't have a situation where in some instances, i think in 1