Why this leading trade unionist is backing proportional representation
The prorogation saga has shown up Britain’s constitution for the undemocratic mess it is. And now trade unionists – there are over six million of them in the UK – are speaking up for a democratic overhaul. At the ‘Politics for the Many’ fringe at TUC conference earlier this month, the Unite union’s Assistant General Secretary Howard Beckett made a …
Why unions are getting serious about the need for political reform
A week before the court case over prorogation reached the Supreme Court, the ERS’ Dr Jess Garland told TUC Congress delegates: “Our constitution is just a set of gentlemen’s agreements, with weak parliamentary checks and balances, made worse by an unelected upper chamber. This isn’t a democratic situation.” The ‘gentleman’s agreement’ has clearly broken down. TUC Congress in Brighton saw …
Richard Leonard has backed Lords abolition. Labour conference must do the same
Last week, the rumours were proven true. Theresa May – who had previously said David Cameron’s Lords appointments made her “wretch” – handed some of her closest allies seats in our parliament for life. The 19 appointments included her former chief and deputy chiefs of staff. (Clearly based on merit, given how well May did with their help.) And all …
As the constitutional crisis over shutting down Parliament grew last week, campaigners gathered to ask: what next for democracy?
At Saturday’s ‘This is What Democracy Looks Like’ conference in Manchester – organised by Politics for the Many and the Electoral Reform Society – Shadow Cabinet office minister Jon Trickett called for a ‘democratic revolution’ and a new constitutional settlement for the UK, as speakers outlined a positive response to the current constitutional crisis. Around 150 activists, academics, journalists and …