Magna Carta 2015?
Thoughts on constitutional reform.
Last night in Westminster the Political Studies Association hosted a Post Graduate Network discussion forum with guest speakers, Anne McIntosh, John Pugh and Graham Allen. Discussion quickly centred onto the topic of political and constitutional reform, particularly when related to the engagement of young people and the promises made to ensure the Scottish vote against independence.
The problem with trying to engage young people in politics is that many are already engaged in politics, they just aren’t engaged in party politics. More and more people are engaging in political and social issues through campaigning websites such as 38degrees and avazz, but John Pugh says these bring about problems.
When people send him emails or letters directly copied from campaigning websites he says they often lead to ‘cookie-cutter’ discussions which don’t actually increase the engagement between MP and constituent.
With all the talk of digital democracy and increasing the number of social and political activities taking place online, Anne McIntosh worries that this excludes certain demographics. Older people, and people living in rural communities are increasingly feeling disengaged and let down by their politicians, and ideas of digital democracy might do little to improve their social engagement. She went on to say that many paperless activites make lives more difficult for many in non-high-speed broadband areas.
The consensus of both was that the issues facing London (what politicians see when they look out the doors of Westminster) were being wrongly projected on the rest of the country, which faces many different, but equally significant issues. Centralisation in Westminster was giving many a warped view of the priorities of the country.
“For the people, by the people”
Will more devolution to different parts of the UK help alleviate these issues and the ‘Westminster bias’ that so many complain about?
The political mandate for devolution has long been clear from Scotland, but the mandate from England is only starting to take form with slogans such as “English votes for English laws”.
But Graham Allen says English votes for English laws is like “rearranging the deck chairs on the Westminster Titanic.” He wants much more radical reform, including more devolution, many more powers at local levels, and a decentralisation of power out of Westminster.
Having recently published a draft constitution for the UK, the Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee, of which Graham Allen is Chair, hopes to get individuals from across the UK to write parts of the document. He doesn’t want a small demographic of law experts and politicians to be the only people to get the chance to directly impact the future constitution of the UK. In essence, borrowing from the American constitution, ‘we, the people’ should play our part in the future of our country.
Despite a no vote in the Scottish independence referendum, the future of the UK as a nation could be changing forever. Next year, in the 800th year since the Magna Carta, Parliament’s relationship with the Executive, as well as it’s relationship with the peoples of this country, could change forever.
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flickr/jamesjoel
