Campaign for democracy
Campaign for democracy: Brown vs Cameron vs Clegg
Today, in exclusive articles for The Independent, all three party leaders set out their visions for the future as the demand for genuine reform grows stronger
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Independent Minds
Gordon Brown, Prime Minister: I'll consider anything that makes the political elite accountable to citizens
Revelations about the unacceptable practices in MPs' expenses have angered and appalled me. They have shown that the British people want to be proud of our democracy and are furious when it is undermined.
I will not tolerate behaviour that is against everything I believe in. A thorough investigation of all expenses claims will be conducted. No single newspaper can be judge and jury and strengthening our democracy takes all of us. I am determined that when the full investigation is complete in the next few months any wrongdoing will be rectified and punished. All of us – I mean all – have to pass the test.
But of course the recent controversies crystalise a long-gestating problem of disengagement between the British public and those who serve them as elected representatives.
That is why as soon as I became Prime Minister and in my first Commons statement as Prime Minister, I said that Britain needed big changes in our constitution so that the British people held greater power over the decisions that affected their lives. I said that the answer to disengagement from democracy was not to bypass its structures but strengthen them.
I proposed the removal of centuries-old powers held undemocratically by the executive over peace and war, treaties and appointments. Now those powers will reside in Parliament, where, for appointments, there are now pre-confirmation hearings.
When I became Prime Minister I was also concerned, as a long-standing supporter of Charter 88, that our freedom of information was not robust enough. Transparency is the foundation of a modern democracy and I strengthened the public's right to secure information free of charge.
But as I said at that time, the strengthening of Parliament against the executive was merely the first part of a rolling programme of constitutional reform.
In a few weeks, Jack Straw will announce the outcome of a long period of consultation on our constitutional renewal Bill. Most MPs enter Parliament to serve the public but that consultation will now have to take into account the revelations of the abuse of the system.
Since March we have been consulting on a Green Paper on a Bill of both rights and responsibilities – about how to entrench the rights and freedoms of the British people in relation to the state. In the months ahead we will move in all these areas.
Yesterday I spent time meeting young people in Fife and tomorrow I will meet members of the Youth Citizenship Commission to talk about how young people can vote on local budgets, run local youth councils and elect members to a national youth parliament.
I will be talking about how by recall, redress and better representations all local people can have far more influence on local budgets and local decisions, from policing to schooling.
Everyone must know that they are being heard. We will shortly publish proposals which reform the Commons and put more power where it belongs – in the people's hands. There is no option I will not consider if it redistributes power. What has always been clear to me is that we must look at new ways in which the political elites can be made accountable to serve more effectively the single most important person in our democracy – the citizen.
David Cameron, Conservative leader: Make Parliament strong again and call time on cosy party stitch-ups
We've seen the expenses, we've heard the excuses, now it's time to extract something of worth from this scandal. People don't want to see more self-pity from politicians. They want to see real action to bring about change – not just in the expenses system, but in the whole political system. This crisis gives us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make that change. The public calls for political reform are urgent. But feeding the frenzy with ideas sketched on the back of an envelope would be a woeful wasted opportunity. Meaningful reform must start with a simple, single objective. The Conservative Party's objective is this: to redistribute power from the powerful to the powerless.
Most people in Britain feel that they are on the distant periphery of power, the movement of their lives directed by the orbit of a powerful centre. They're right, and the results of this power imbalance are hugely destructive to our society. When you feel that someone else, somewhere else is pulling the strings of your life it saps social responsibility and self-reliance, and severs community ties.
We can only defeat this powerlessness with a new politics – and that must start with the most radical decentralisation of power this country has ever seen.
Of course it isn't always possible to devolve power down from national government. That's why there should be a clear, unbroken line of accountability between the British people and those who make decisions on their behalf. The lynchpin of this line must be a strong Parliament.
Right now the Mother of all Parliaments can seem more like a pliant child. Legislation is run through on the rails of government dominance, without proper scrutiny. That's why we've said that the House of Commons should have more control over its own timetable. Without automatic guillotines there would be more time for debate.
Select committees should be engines for serious scrutiny, not cosy party stitch-ups, so their chairmen and members should be elected by backbenchers. There should be much less whipping during the committee stages of a Bill, leaving MPs free to consult their conscience and their constituents and act accordingly. In keeping with this new culture of parliamentary strength, we should limit the use of the Royal Prerogative. Going to war and signing international treaties are massive national decisions that must be discussed by the people's representatives in Parliament, not just a small secretive cabal in Downing Street.
There are further steps we need to take to end the culture of sofa government. So we'll put limits on the number of political advisers, strengthen the Ministerial Code, protect the independence of the Civil Service, and ensure that more decisions are made by the Cabinet as a whole.
We also need to look seriously at the case for fixed-term governments. I know there are strong arguments against this. But if we want Parliament to be a real engine of accountability it's got to be an option. That's why a Conservative government will seriously consider fixed-term parliaments when there is a majority government.
With the backing of the people, the will of Parliament and the authority of a new Speaker, we will create a new politics. We're not looking for a revolution – but we are looking for the most radical redistribution of power Britain has ever seen.
Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat leader: Let's take the dirty money out of politics – and have a battle of ideas
The expenses scandal that has rocked the country in the past few weeks is just the tip of an iceberg of problems with Britain's political system. The exploitation of the House of Commons expenses rules has exposed a culture of arrogance and secrecy right at the heart of our democracy, protected for decades by the vested interests of those in charge. Finally, the truth is out and real change is becoming possible.
This is a once-in-a-generation chance to overhaul our political system, and we must seize it. We need a revolution – the power to sack MPs, a fair voting system, an end to the House of Lords, more power for Parliament to control the government and the eradication of dirty money from politics.
Money has far too big an influence on our politics. Labour is funded by trade unions, the Conservatives by multimillionaires, many of whom don't even pay their full British taxes. And all the parties have run into difficulties with donors who look dodgy. So we must stop big donations once and for all with a cap of £25,000 on any individual donations and a cap on total spending too. Politics should be a competition of ideas, not advertising budgets.
Once elected, government should be subject to proper control by the people's representatives in Parliament. Our Parliament has been weak for too long – there isn't time for MPs to scrutinise legislation and spending is controlled entirely by government with MPs unable to alter a single pound in a single budget. This has got to change. And a new, reforming Speaker should urgently reduce the power of government in Parliament.
But the reform of Parliament will never be complete while appointed party apparatchiks sit as legislators in the House of Lords. Whatever the merits of individual lords and baronesses, they should not be deciding the law of the land. This anachronism cannot be swept under the carpet any longer.
Finally, we must restore democracy by giving power back to people. Liberal Democrats have been calling for over a year for constituents to have the right to sack their MP if they are suspended for wrongdoing – this must be made law immediately so people can have their say on corrupt MPs as soon as possible.
The ultimate power people hold, however, is in their vote, and our system denies millions their voice. The Labour government that holds the reins of power was elected in 2005 with the support of just 22 per cent of eligible voters. Such a system, where so much power depends on the support of so few people, will always breed secrecy and arrogance. It must be changed and a voting system introduced that puts power into everyone's hands.
We have a choice in this crisis. We can patch up the obviously rotten parts of our democracy like expenses and pretend that's enough. Or we can choose to build a new democracy from scratch, with new rules for everything and new hope for the future. I know which side the Liberal Democrats are on.
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Comments
Re-jigging the existing system simply will not suffice. We need a goal-based solution, not a prescriptive collection of macro-changes. That goal must be to reconnect that which is completely disconnected with an entirely new system based on direct accountability, on transparency by default, and on democracy. A real democracy, representative of the votes cast, without the House Of Lords, without disproportionate corporate lobbying influence, secretive foreign power influence or on-the-side special interest lobby group influences. Parliament must be liberated from nepotism. MPs must be directly accountable to the people who elect them, to the exclusion of all else. Unless we achieve the goals we set, we will miss this opportunity to finally make this a democracy in anything more than name only.
We do NOT care if our parliament is "the mother of parliaments". There is no sense of pride in the current system. We just care that it is "the mother" of a wholly dysfunctional system that must be wholly replaced. No aspect of the current rotten system can remain, now. Real change depends on total change. The reforms that could and should have happened were easily buried under the existing system's most effectively inefficient bureaucracy.
I sense that the two main party leaders fear rocking the boat too hard. This itself is a symptom of the erroneous and entirely endemic belief on the part of politicians that the boat is theirs to rock. It is OURS to rock, not theirs. They are not our masters, though we have allowed them to believe that they are for far too long. Not ONE of them has even been elected our skipper, in this sad excuse for a democracy.
Perhaps rather predictably Mr Clegg best connects with the current mood. I'm aware of the LibDems' pursuit of fixed term parliaments and proportional representation. The LibDems know, perhaps better than either other main party, how severely lob-sided our current system is. But I find it disappointing that the last sentence - "I know which side the Liberal Democrats are on." - is rather weak. Don't be afraid, Mr Clegg. We'd welcome a bit of fist-shaking about now. Honestly, an ANGRY gang of politicians, demanding wholesale change would best represent the people in parliament, today.
The question is exactly how representative of the people do ANY of you dare to be?
Hearing our politicians use the term "the mother of all parliaments" just shows the enormous self-regard in which they hold themselves. A bit more humility would be appropriate, but we know that we're never going to get that, hence popular anger which is only further stoked by the hubris of our political classes.
It's also inaccurate: the true mother of all parliaments was the Althing in 10th century Iceland - and this just re-demonstrates the problem we face!
Having new and more democratic laws is one thing and making sure that they are executed is another thing.
Indeed there is a need for a Bill of Rights, new Constitution, etc, however, we need to make sure that people know their rights AND how to use it.
The best way to achieve it is to provide people with professional personal chancellors. People need housing, jobs, education, healthcare, pension, etc.
There should be an organisation to invite and interview people to let them know what they are entitled and how to get them.
People should also be advised about their struggles and difficulties in life, giving them a view of their future and inform them how to improve their lives for a prosperous future, for themselves and their country.
Laws of social welfares and rights should be taught in schools, colleges and universities as the most major curriculum of social education, encouraging all for an equal and just humanistic society.
As for the Parliament, having independent MPs are the future of non-party democratic society.
There should be limited of time, responsibility and expenses for all members of the Parliament and the Government.
The Government, like the Parliament should be an independent body from party politics and institutes of adventures financers.
And an independent judiciary system has to watch the performance of the Parliament and the Government.
Important Bills, such as Bill of Rights, Constitution, international treaties, etc that affect gravely the future of people, should be passed by Referendum.
I cannot agree more! So many people have overlooked this simple, important part of having a Bill of Rights.
Now he comes late to the table with a piece in which he mentions that as part of his first Commons statement as Prime Minister, he said that Britain needed big constitutional changes. Correct me if I'm wrong (please) but it's been nearly 2 years since he took office and we don't really seem to have a great deal on this to show for it. I'm sorry Brown, but you've had your chance and it seems clear now that it is Cameron and Clegg who are setting the agenda, not the government. I probably shouldn't be overly surprised as despite having a reasonable first few months, ever since the 'election that wasn't' in the Autumn of 07 Labour have barely seemed able to do anything other than stumble from one failure to the next.
So, will anything change? I suppose it's something that all three major parties are broadly on the same page, whether by choice or forced there by the unprecedented surge of public opinion against them, but I fear that time is short and political will often shorter. You can't stay angry forever (be honest, you may have followed the first few days of the Telegraph's revelations and been incensed but are you still reading the latest revelations with the same fury as you on that first day?) and as public anger fades so to will the impetus for politicians to do what must be done. Once the election has been and gone will any follow through on their promises, or, like Brown's statement above, will we all still be waiting years down the line for a boat that's never coming?
The Monklands constituency of the the late John Smith was a byword for corruption, and is just a single example of the rotten boroughs controlled by the Labour Party for decades, to the great detriment of the local inhabitants. As the voters were taken for granted, the Labour Party presided over the decline of once decent communities amid a sea of corrupt practices in places where the social deprivation was the worst in Europe.
The alliance of politicians and local businessmen sucked the money and life out of such places at a time of unprecedented affluence for the UK national economy, abandoning the weakest and most vulnerable members of society, the very people the Labour Party was created to protect.
Shame on you, Gordon Brown!
Sounds a bit like to Mother of Parliaments - does it go with the bad mothering gene (yes, I know there are GREAT mothers out there, but they obviously have different genes).
Reneging on the EU referendum did neither party any good.
Theyre the only party whom still stands by their long standing demands for reform. Labour promised it but once they got in they realised they had to much power to bother with PR and as far as their other reform is concerned theyve barely begun what their manifesto promised - there still 92 hereditary peers!
LIb Dems will bring through radical change to turn this country into a democracy - Cameron doesnt go far enough at all.
Step 1 elected Lords, step 2 PR brought in, step 3 written constitution clearly outlining how parliament operates.
http://www.geocities.com/cronyblatc
'ROYAL COMMISSION'- REGARDING REFORMING THE UK's POLITICAL STRUCTURES!!
All politicians (& persons-who-belong-to-political-parties)
unable to do this free from political biases...
Individual political parties and their members should be barred from control of processes leading to potential
political structures' reform in the UK...
Solution: the Queen ought to dissolve Parliament- mandating a general election within 90 days- while simultaneously
setting a 1-year (or there abouts) schedule for a UK-wide public consultation process regarding possible changes to
the UK's political structures...
This UK-wide public consultation process should be set to begin no later than 2 months after the completion of the
general election, and should have to be facilitated by a non-partisan body, or at least overseen by a multi-party
oversight group....
After the UK political structures reform public consultation process was completed, and its data compiled and
summarized, the UK's (adult) public should be enabled to vote for their preferred UK political structures model via
a referendum with 3 different options for voters to choose between....
2 of the referendum's 3 options should outline succinctly 2 different new political structure models for the UK,
with the 3rd option leaving things as they are...
The present UK Parliament- & its MP's- is far too tainted by the corruption & culture of self-interest that has
been shown to permeate it so deeply for the present Parliament- & present MP's- to be charged with anything to do
with leading the revamping or restructuring of the UK's political structures...
The legitimacy and 'clean hands' that would be automatically be provided (at least in public perceptions) to MP's
that have been freshly- or newly- elected would make their (limited) participation in any processes regarding a
revamping of the UK's political structures a good deal more appropriate than members of the present
Parliament/Commons/Lords/govt....
The extraordinary urgency of:
- the MP's expenses scandal;
- civil service corruption;
- Lords accepting bribes for their votes; and
the glaringly obvious need for an objective- not politicized body- to be charged with delineating potential
new/reformed UK political structures- to eventually be put to voters in a referendum- calls for extraordinary &
impartial actions...
Such impartial actions could be delivered constructively by the Queen....
If not by Her Majesty, then who????
Roderick V. Louis,
Vancouver, B.C., Canada
ceo@patientempowermentsociety.com
All this highlights is that party politics are as redundant as representation. We know the time is ripe for change but we have the problem of how to move these idiots out of our way...
However..... I am not quite sure, that when the people have won the day and the scavengers have been routed, what we replace them with??? I am sure that there are quite a number of left & right wing minority organisations waiting in the wings, all too willing to fill the political vacuum and ready to lead the people (or at least their people) to the promised land. But can you really trust those buggers any more than you can trust this lot!!
Sorry, this is not an answer to the problem, it is simply a political comment. Like you, and like the current politicians, I dont know what the answer is
The other two Cameron and Clegg can be excused on the grounds they have no power that they can exercise and in the latter case likely never will either. The Opposition may say anything they like, make any promise to assure us that the gleaming new car they wish us to buy is the most modern, fast, economical and environmentally friendly too !
Its a harder sell for Brown because we know he's trying to sell us a clapped out old banger (no I didn't mention Hattie), with bald tyres, dodgy brakes, built in rust, no MOT, Road Tax or insurance. How do we know this ? Because we were in the ruddy thing when chauffeur Brown rammed it into a brick wall that suddenly jumped in front of him from nowhere !
"When I became Prime Minister I was also concerned, as a long-standing supporter of Charter 88, that our freedom of information was not robust enough. Transparency is the foundation of a modern democracy and I strengthened the public's right to secure information free of charge.
But as I said at that time, the strengthening of Parliament against the executive was merely the first part of a rolling programme of constitutional reform."
Freedom of information, well I guess that is all the data that Government Departments keep losing...
This the same man who refused the British people the promised Referendum on the EU Treaty on the lame excuse that it was called a "No.9 bus instead of a No.39 bus" - Yes clearly this man wants to share power with the people. As for reform, all we get is once a year is Jack Straw coming up with yet another document about reforming the Lords when it has been as plain as the nose on your face for years that it is the Commons where all power resides that needs reform first and most.
Brown has done absolutely nothing since becoming Prime Minister to devolve power to the people or engage in a serious and public debate about constitutional reforms. As for them "consulting widely", it has not been with you or I, it has been all the usual behind closed doors stuff with only people invited who will say what the Labour Party Soviet wants them to say and fits in with what they decided to do in the first place.
In living memory, I cannot remember a Prime Minister and a Party more deserving of being hounded from Office and power. I don't think that changing their Leader would help them avoid defeat but, it might leave them with a basis to rebuild from. The PLP has thus far been totally cowardly in not getting rid of Brown before now, if they still keep him after June 4th, we should all mount a civil disobedience campaign until we get an immediate General Election so that we the people may not just speak but roar our contempt and anger at this derelict Government of all the incompetents.
Even if I disagreed with the decision that the people made I would vote as instructed.
I do have my own opinions and I do hold a degree in politics (paid for by myself, it is an OU degree that took six years of study whilst I also worked at rubbish jobs to pay the mortgage). I sent out leaflets to every house in the constituency, run a website and assist people with their problems locally, my local evening newspaper treat me well but because I am not a party candidate I do not get TV or Radio invites.
My share of the vote was small which leads me to suggest the following which was formed from the campaign experience and feedback I received from the constituents after the election.
Whilst people do want a greater say in the political issues of the day there is great distrust in the others whose opinion would be heard also. If I had stood on my own opinions and just promised to listen to the electorate I am told that the outcome would have been different, we may hate politicians but we mistrust our fellow constituents even more.
And whilst we are at it, how does a subscription to Sky Sport paid for by us help you do your job as an MP. And why on earth do we need to pay for your light bulbs?
Frankly reading what you say above makes me sick. You are the most untrustworthy Prime Minister since Lloyd George, but unlike him you are useless at the job. For God's sake do what we all want, call a general election now.
A coherent structured approach to develop a real system instead of the usual bag of sound bites and general headline grabbing. Are there any belief structures or value systems behind any of this?
Thats what's needed I think- then perhaps some of our representatives will have some integritiy.
no chance
I am convinced that there is only one reform which addresses the issues completely: using online referenda to ask the voters to pass an opinion on every major issue.
We would need 4 or 5 per year, each of which would ask national, regional and local questions, based on the user's postcode.
For me, this works on many levels: MPs would be there to propose and flesh out legislation, aided by expert opinion (consultants), then to formulate the question(s) to be asked; we could reduce the number of MPs to (say) 300, all of whom would be able to contribute issues for debate; the people have the ultimate say on eg going to war with Iraq, replacing Trident, going for nuclear + renewable energy, reforming benefits & pensions, etc; we could have a small (say 25), elected second chamber, whose only role is to police the MPs' performance; the Queen could be completely removed from politics; it would dramatically stimulate public participation in both local and national politics - perhaps offering a small tax break to anyone who votes.
Whilst this would not end the party system - nothing will, of course - it would mean a FPTP or STV or other voting systems decided only who the players were, and not what the decisions were.
What likelihood that our MPs will support such a natural and logical change? These 3 articles do not suggest we are on a road anywhere near Damascus. Would turkeys vote for Xmas? It would need a massive public march on Parliament. Fancy a day out?
How about an English Parliament then, so that we in England only have directly accountable politicians deciding on things like education and health?
or would you want another level of government that will cost millions to run.
we have one in wales its basically an accountancy practice/talk shop and costs us and yes you millions.
There are plenty of proposals for regional assemblies but just imagine the waste of money and trying to make them accountable
Get rid of all of them.
No more party system only independent candidates. Close down local offices and get rid of the local mindless morons who blindly support the parties what ever they do or do not do.
WE do have other choices, just please UK do not waste this opportunity to get shot of them once and for all.