Gordon Brown's electoral reforms would increase Labour's advantage

The Sunday Times publishes an analysis of Labour's proposed voting reform that would see a system of Alternative Vote replace first-past-the-post:

"Michael Thrasher and Colin Rallings, professors of politics at Plymouth University, re-ran the results of the 2005 general election as if Brown’s alternative vote system were in place. The results show that Labour’s majority in the Commons would have risen from 66 to 82, with the Tories getting 15 fewer seats. The Liberal Democrats would have gained an extra nine. Labour, with 36% of the popular vote on people’s first preferences, would have gained 364 Commons seats, equivalent to more than 10 for every 1% of the vote. The Tories would have secured 183 seats for their 33% of the vote, just five for every 1% of the vote."