After 13 years of Tory rule Britain is ready for change – only our broken electoral system stands in its way The last time a Labour Prime Minister occupied Number 10 Downing Street the country looked very different. Labour’s impact on Britain could be seen everywhere. From the minimum wage, the Human Rights Act, Sure Start Centres and record investment …
Continue readingUnite members have voted to oppose Westminster’s First Past the Post electoral system pledging support for moves towards a new voting system in UK elections. “Today, Unite Policy Conference voted to support Proportional Representation in Westminster elections for the first time in our history. Our political class has failed working people and our system is broken. It is time to change our democracy.” Unite’s general secretary …
Continue readingOn Monday, Labour conference debated and voted on a motion to back PR, adding a pledge to their next manifesto. Despite the overwhelming support of local party delegates, 80% of whom supported the campaign for Labour to back reform, due to opposition from several of the party’s affiliated trade unions the motion was narrowly defeated. The motion, backed by the Labour …
Continue readingI am proud to have written the motion on a fairer voting system that was recently adopted by ASLEF at their Annual Assembly of Delegates. However, in a democratic union like ASLEF, success is only achieved with the support of branch delegates from across the railway network. I am particularly grateful to my colleague who put the motion to the …
Continue readingTwo-thirds of the public feel powerless over decision making and feel that they have little or no opportunities to influence decisions made at Westminster’, according to new Savanta ComRes polling. In a week that has seen lobbying allegations dominate the news, the poll for the Politics for the Many campaign and the Electoral Reform Society finds that just 5% of …
Continue reading“My vote won’t make a difference”. How many times have you heard this? This week we saw new research suggesting this feeling is the number one reason why people aren’t planning on voting this May. The sad fact is, it’s hard to blame people. Democracy in Britain is pale imitation of the real thing. Westminster isn’t working – and it’s warping our …
Continue readingAs the self-styled ‘home’ of parliamentary sovereignty, Britain has commonly been assumed to have a system of government is rational, ordered and organised with sufficient checks and balances. Yet as Brexit has drawn more attention to daily parliamentary goings-on, we have found that it is, in fact, wrapped up in pageantry, ritual and confusion, with even the participants unsure of …
Continue readingFor some the abolition of universal credit will stand out, for others the Green New Deal will mean the most, for others it will be health and education that are most important. But in the section on Tackling Poverty and Inequality you will find a commitment on the Constitution. Not everyone will turn to this as a matter of priority, …
Continue readingThe 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 …
Continue readingA 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 …
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