What would a new charter for radical democratic reform look like today?
It’s been great to see so many people out on the streets defending democracy. But what if those thousands turned their attention to demanding more democracy rather than simply defending what we currently have? What might those demands be? Inspired at that thought, I’ve had a shot at writing what a list of necessary reforms might look like. I’ve explained elsewhere why I think that shift from defence to demands is so vital.
The title, of course, comes from the famous People’s Charter of 1838 which after many decades of campaigning established the cornerstones of British democracy like universal suffrage and the secret ballot.
It’s also worth mentioning Charter 88 which campaigned for a series of democratic reforms over two decades with varied results. Although personally I can see the great importance of many of the things Charter 88 demanded, such as proportional representation and a written constitution, I don’t feel they adequately address the big challenge for democracy today: a very widespread and deep sense that citizens have no real say over the decisions taken in their name. As a result, nor do I think those reforms would mobilise popular support. Indeed one of Charter 88’s great problems was that, unlike the 1838 Charter, it struggled to secure support outside metropolitan intellectual and professional circles and was often dismissed as of no interest to the great majority of the population.
Anyway, here’s my go at a charter offered up very much in the spirit of discussion.
The People’s Charter 2020
The definition of democracy is the rule of the people. But in the UK today, a chasm has opened up between the people and the institutions that claim to represent them. Our government, parliaments, assemblies and councils operate in a world shaped by party leaderships, wealthy donors, the media and think tanks. Citizens’ voices are very rarely heard outside of elections. This not only makes us less democratic, it allows a corrosive cynicism towards politics and democracy itself to spread that provides fertile soil for the growth of authoritarianism. For these reasons we are calling for a new constitutional settlement that places citizens at the very heart of decision-making based on the following reforms.
1. Constituents First: Our elected representatives should make decisions based on what their constituents want not what those representatives judge to be right nor what the powerful demand. So, all elected representatives should be required by law to build consensus within their constituencies and wards on major legislative issues and to represent that consensual view within their assembly. Elected representatives should be adequately resourced to fulfill this duty.
2. Recall Power: If representatives fail to represent their constituents, they should not be free to continue in their role unchallenged. So, all citizens should have the right enshrined in law to call a by-election should one fifth of the registered voters in a constituency demand it by petition.
3. A Permanent Citizens’ Assembly: The people should be at the heart of decision-making every day not just on polling day. So, the House of Lords should be replaced by a permanent assembly made up of one-hundred citizens selected randomly at the start of each new Parliament. This assembly should have the same powers as the current House of Lords.
4. Local Power: The people will only genuinely be able to control decisions made in their name when the power to do so resides locally not with distant politicians and officials. So, decision-making power over social and economic matters should be fully devolved from national governments and assemblies to local councils.
5. Ban on Second Incomes: Our elected representatives owe us their full-time efforts and should not be swayed in their decisions by paymasters other than the people. So, all elected representatives should be barred from securing income from any source other than the salary received in their role as a representative. All elected representatives should be provided with a sufficient salary to enable them to fulfill their duties on a full-time basis.
6. Ban on Political Donations: No-one should be able to influence decisions made in the name of the people but the people themselves. So, all donations from individuals or organisations to political parties and elected representatives’ offices should be banned and replaced by support from public funds based on an independently approved and supervised formula.
