Ballot papers are sorted for the national referendum on the Alternative Vote system
Campaigners against changing the way MPs are elected have claimed a "resounding" victory as the No camp gained an unassailable lead in the UK-wide referendum.
With 403 of 440 results declared, more than 11.4 million people had rejected a switch to the Alternative Vote, with 5.2 million in favour - a margin of around 69% to 31%.
Senior political figures on the No campaign said the scale of the victory meant it was not simply a vote against AV but a firm endorsement by the public of the first-past-the-post system.
The milestone was cheered at the conference centre in London's Docklands where politicians gathered to hear the results announced by the Electoral Commission. A majority in favour of the reform was registered in only eight of the areas declared so far.
"We've won," a delighted No to AV campaign spokesman said in the sparsely-attended hall - where supporters of each side gathered to listen to regional results being read out.
The rejection of AV, under which voters rank candidates in numerical order, was a further humiliation for Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, for whom a referendum on voting reform was his main prize in negotiations to form a coalition last year.
The UK says NO!
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