Prime Minister David Cameron planned to speak out against electoral reform on Friday, pitting him squarely against his deputy Nick Clegg, whose Liberal Democrat party wants a change to the voting system.
The bizarre spectacle of two close political allies squaring up to each other on such a fundamental issue is a product of Britain's first coalition government since World War Two.
Cameron and Clegg were launching campaigns ahead of a referendum in May when Britons will be asked if they want to change the way they elect members of parliament.
Analysts say the vote, although dividing the coalition, is unlikely to bring it down as neither party would want to precipitate an election at a time of deep public spending cuts.
Cameron's Conservatives agreed to hold the referendum to lure the smaller Lib Dems into a coalition with them.
However, the Conservatives want to maintain the present system where MPs win seats in straight regional or district electoral races.
Britons will be asked if they want to move to an Alternative Vote (AV) framework where voters choose candidates in order of preference. The system falls short of the Lib Dem's ultimate goal of a full proportional system that would be more favourable to smaller parties.
"MISERABLE LITTLE COMPROMISE"
Clegg dismissively referred to it last year as "a miserable little compromise," a remark that could come back to haunt him.
Cameron, who was due to speak in London, said AV would make politics less accountable and make it much harder for voters to kick out governments.
"Over the next 11 weeks, the debate over AV is going to heat up right across the country. But throughout this time, I'll be making my case loud and clearly," he said in advance excerpts of his speech.
"Yes, our politics needs reform. Yes, we need to shift more power down across the country. But no to AV," he added.
The current voting system usually gives a clear majority to either the Conservatives or Labour and Cameron argued that AV would increase the risk of more inconclusive elections -- like the one that ushered in his coalition.
Lib Dem support has slumped since they entered government and the pressure is on Clegg to get the reform approved to reassure his restive party that they are getting some benefits from coalition.
Clegg, who was due to speak in northern England, said AV would help to restore faith in a parliament struggling to recover from an expenses scandal.
"They (politicians) will be more legitimate and will carry a stronger mandate from a broader range of people. That can only be good for our democracy," he will say, according to advance quotes from his speech.
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