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Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only. www.brucenixon.com candidacy age reduced to 16; a commission to encourage women, ethnic minorities, people on lower incomes, young people and independents to stand; £10,000 limit on individual donations to parties; decentralising power from central to local government; curbs on the powers of party “whips”; more powers for select committees to hold ministers to account and tighter rules on plurality of media ownership. Participation, not consultation Democracy needs to be, not only representative, but also participatory. It needs to involve and engage people. That means devolving power and adopting the principle of Subsidiarity – an organizing principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralised competent authority. New opportunities for involvement through the internet The internet provides new opportunities for involvement. President Obama seized this opportunity to engage younger people and people who had never been engaged in politics before. He used it to raise funds in a new more democratic way - from ordinary people - instead of relying on large corporations and wealthy people as his predecessors did. His campaign raised more than any previous one. Three and a half million people signed up to his website and he keeps them informed as part of his pledge for open government. More power at a local level. To unlock democracy, radical legislation is needed that gives more power at a local level, to local councils and communities. That is not the only way of giving people involvement but it is extremely important. Arguably it would lead to far better decisions than those imposed by remote advisors in Whitehall, county halls and borough councils. Local people are the experts on what their community needs and wants. “Not in my back yard,” NIMBYism, is a sound principle for protecting the planet, says Satish Kumar. If you would not want something in your back yard, that is a sure indication that it is not fit for anyone’s back yard. Better informed citizens For democracy to work citizens must be well informed. They need readily accessible, balanced information from sources that do not treat them as stupid or subject them to constant corporate advertising. Government often does its best to make a case, deny, withhold or distort information. Iraq is the outstanding example; others are the case for GM and nuclear power. Lack of integrity and due diligence ultimately become evident, result in disastrous consequences and undermine our democracy. Bold, investigative journalism is vital. Newspapers struggle in the face of competition from the internet and the enormous costs of fighting legal actions brought by large corporations and rich individuals. Tesco presented the Guardian with a bill for £800,000 of which £350,000 was for Tesco to explain themselves on the subject of tax avoidance. Eventually the cost would have been nearly £1m, so the case was settled confidentially. Equally important for local communities, local newspapers suffer from reduced advertising revenues. Their loss leaves communities without reliable source of local news. Giving power to the people also requires giving citizens the right to recall representatives and, if enough people support it, a right to local or national referenda on vital issues. Constituents need the right to recall MPs and councilors outside of election time and force a by-election. Progress has been made 150
Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only. www.brucenixon.com Charter 88 came into existence as a response to Thatcherism and a widespread feeling that government was out of control – as now! 348 activists signed a letter to the New Statesman magazine as "a general expression of dissent" following the 1987 General Election triumph of the Conservative Party. Advertisements in The Guardian and Independent newspapers produced 5000 signatures and many donations by 1989. This is Charter 88’s original declaration: “We call, therefore, for a new constitutional settlement which will: Enshrine, by means of a Bill of Rights, such civil liberties as the right to peaceful assembly, to freedom of association, to freedom from discrimination, to freedom from detention without trial, to trial by jury, to privacy and to freedom of expression. Subject Executive powers and prerogatives, by whosoever exercised, to the rule of law. Establish freedom of information and open government. Create a fair electoral system of proportional representation. Reform the Upper House to establish a democratic, non-hereditary Second Chamber. Place the Executive under the power of a democratically renewed Parliament and all agencies of the state under the rule of law. Ensure the independence of a reformed judiciary. Provide legal remedies for all abuses of power by the state and by officials of central and local government. Guarantee an equitable distribution of power between the nations of the United Kingdom and between local, regional and central government. Draw up a written constitution anchored in the ideal of universal citizenship that incorporates these reforms.” Ultimately some 85,000 people signed up. In 2007, Charter 88 and the New Politics Network merged to form Unlock Democracy. Strictly non-aligned it has supporters in all three main parties and the Greens. Currently there are around 4.500 members. Many more are needed to help transform our democracy. This year Unlock Democracy and POWER2010 have now joined together to campaign. Over 56,000 people have signed the Take Back Parliament Coalition petition demanding a fair voting system. Over the past twenty years substantial progress has been made – see below. The Charter 88 Unlock Democracy campaign Human Rights Act (enacted 1998) incorporating freedom from discrimination, except religious. Freedom of Information Act (enacted in Britain 2000 and Scotland 2002, 36 years after USA in 1966.) Open government Devolution and decentralisation of power (extended in limited form to Scotland and Wales; rejected in the North by referendum) Reform of the House of Commons A democratic second chamber (limited reform – most hereditary peers were removed but life peers continue to be appointed by patronage) Proportional representation ( enacted in the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly) An independent judiciary A written constitution — a new contract between citizens and those who govern in our name 151
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