Commenting on the Deputy Prime Minister’s statement on political reform Deputy Director of Unlock Democracy Alexandra Runswick said:

“Unlock Democracy welcomes confirmation that the Prime Minister’s power to choose the date of the election is finally being consigned to history. Fixed term parliaments are an important rebalancing of power from the Executive to Parliament. These new proposals are stronger than those initially announced and far more likely to stand the test of time. It is good to see the Government listening and engaging constructively.

“We welcome this historic announcement and look forward to actively campaigning for the abolition of the outdated First Past the Post system. After weeks of speculation, the public can now look forward to a long overdue debate about our electoral system and the chance to change to a system which gives them more choice at the ballot box.

“We look forward to seeing the details of the Bill and campaigning vigorously for AV in May next year.”

Commenting on reports that some MP’s are planning to table amendments to the Bill to introduce a turnout threshold of 40% of the total electorate for a yes result to be binding, Alexandra Runswick said,

“This referendum must not be derailed by politicians who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. Both David Cameron and Nick Clegg should join Unlock Democracy in opposing any moves to prevent people having their say.

“These proposed amendments are as ill-advised as they are undemocratic. International experience shows that thresholds on turnout just stifle debate. Supporters of the status quo don’t have to win the argument; they just have to convince people to stay at home. If this threshold was applied one MP is on record saying the Yes Vote would require an 80% turnout to succeed. Unlock Democracy finds it disappointing yet unsurprising that some MPs are trying to rig the deck in this way.

“People should feel confident when casting their vote that their opinion is being listened to and that their ballot counts. Public distrust of politicians is already at an all time high. Nothing could be worse for restoring trust in this era of ‘New Politics’ than the perception that MPs had rigged the result of the referendum.”

Commenting on rumours that the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will be announcing the date of the referendum on changing the electoral system early next week, Deputy Director of Unlock Democracy Alexandra Runswick said:

“Whatever date Nick Clegg chooses, his announcement next week will effectively fire the starting gun of the referendum campaign. The ‘yes’ campaign is ready and raring to go, riding on the wave of public opinion.

“We are confident we can win this referendum and Unlock Democracy will be putting out all the stops to ensure that we do. We are aware that the establishment figures calling for people to back the same old politics will probably be able to outspend us, but we are already seeing the emergence of a non-party, grassroots movement which is determined to make the case for a system that puts the voter more in control.

“It is crucial that Nick Clegg doesn’t just announce the date of the referendum next week but gives us a clear timetable for the necessary legislation’s passage through Parliament. We will be pushing for him to ensure it receives at least its second reading in the House of Commons before the summer recess.”

Responding to the Deputy Prime Minister’s announcement today establishing a consultation process to review which laws should be repealed to improve civil liberties, Deputy Director of Unlock Democracy Alexandra Runswick said:

“We welcome any serious exercise to restore civil liberties and wish this initiative every success. But governments of all shades have done much to discredit the idea of consultation and it is crucial this does not turn into yet another cherry picking exercise.

“The lack of deliberation in the process concerns us. Allowing people to vote and add comments online can only get you so far, as anyone who has ever visited YouTube can testify. The government needs to encourage a much deeper public debate which informs as well as listens in order to avoid a kneejerk response.

“The government must also be open about how it intends to treat proposals that its members might have ideological objections to, such as scrapping some of our existing industrial relations laws. If particular ideas or interest groups such as trade unions are to be shut out of this process, Nick Clegg should clear about this from the outset. If they are genuinely going to be taken seriously, he needs to explain how potential conflicts like this will be resolved.”

Groundbreaking Queen’s Speech Applauded by Unlock Democracy

 Following the Queens Speech, Director of Unlock Democracy, Peter Facey, commented:

“It is a ground breaking achievement by this two week old coalition to transform such a reforming legislative agenda into concrete legislative proposals so early in the Parliament.

“This speech is a welcome relief from 13 years of previously warm words on legislative reform. The Take Back Parliament demonstrations have shown that there is massive public support for sweeping political reforms.

“The devil will be in the detail however.  The challenge now will be to ensure that this speech lives up to the hype. We will continue to campaign for a proportional electoral system, with citizens involved in the process

“We warmly welcome this highly impressive first act of a Government still in its political infancy.  We look forward to the prospect of more reforms to come, as this Government gets fully into its stride.”

Voting debacle should act as wake up call!

 Commentating on the Electoral Commission’s interim report into the voting chaos on Polling Day, Peter Facey, Director of Unlock Democracy commented;

“Failure of this kind would be unacceptable in a developing country, let alone one of the oldest democracies in the world.  These debacles could have been a lot worse and should serve as a wakeup call to electoral administrators everywhere.   

“Returning Officers blame high turnout for turning people away, but this excuse does not hold water.  Not only did this election see the third lowest turnout since 1945, but it is a returning officers duty to ensure that everyone who has the right to vote can do so.”

“The Electoral Commission are not to blame for the scenes we saw on Polling Day.  Their guidance to Returning Officers was clear and they have been warning for years that the electoral administrative system is not fit for purpose.  Unfortunately their warnings have fallen on deaf ears.  There is a statutory obligation on the Commission to report on the conduct of all elections, however there is not a similar obligation on Government to debate or even acknowledge their recommendations. 

“We welcome this Governments pledge in their coalition agreement to speed up the introduction of individual voter registration however this report should go to the top of the Secretary of State’s in-tray. Otherwise what is the point of having an independent Electoral Commission charged with overseeing elections, if they do not have the powers to ensure returning officers are following their guidance?”

Nick Clegg must defend the Human Rights Act

Commenting on the Deputy Prime Minister’s speech on electoral reform, Director of Unlock Democracy Peter Facey said:

“This speech maps out an ambitious legislative programme.  The government will have its work cut out implementing all this over the next five years; we wish them well. 

“We warmly welcome the Government’s commitment to replace the House of Lords with an elected second chamber, to abolish ID Cards, to restrict the DNA Database and to decentralise power to local people. 

“In particular we applaud Nick Clegg’s clear commitment not to repeal the Human Rights Act.  This was slightly undermined by the Home Secretary’s assertion this morning of a commission to review the act and that repealing it was very much a possibility.   Given the past commitments the Liberal Democrats have made to protect human rights, we cannot see how the coalition could survive any attempt to water down the HRA.  Nick Clegg must hold firm in his resolve.

“The litmus test for this coalition is whether their fine words will be backed up by their actions.  Unlock Democracy intends to keep the government honest and hold it to its word. 

“One area of policy that was conspicuous by its absence in Mr Clegg’s speech was petitioning parliament, despite both coalition parties having remarkably similar manifesto commitments.  Unlock Democracy will also continue to campaign for further reforms we believe are necessary, including a truly proportional voting system.”

Fight for fair votes will continue

Unlock Democracy has warmly welcomed the publication of the coalition agreement between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats.

Commenting, Director of Unlock Democracy Peter Facey said:

“On the face of it, this agreement suggests that the Cameron-Clegg administration could be one of the great reforming governments in British history. We are impressed that the two parties have managed to agree on such a comprehensive measure of agreements including fixed term parliaments, a second chamber elected by proportional representation, a right to ‘recall’, a statutory register of lobbyists, deepening devolution and resolving the ‘English Question’, extending the scope of the Freedom of Information Act and party funding reform.

“The agreement sketches out an impressive programme on civil liberties but in certain crucial areas we are concerned about the lack of detail. Will the new administration take steps to scrap the previous government’s legislation for detaining terrorist suspects for up to 28 days without charge? We will continue to press for more information in this area but in comparison with the previous government’s lamentable record on civil liberties, this is an encouraging first step.

“We welcome the government’s programme to entrench UK sovereignty but believe that it should explore the possibility of entrenching popular sovereignty in a written constitution rather than maintain the myth of parliamentary sovereignty. Either way, a Sovereignty Bill could potentially be an important stepping stone towards a fully codified constitution in any case.

“Our only sticking point is on electoral reform in the House of Commons. The commitment to holding a referendum on the Alternative Vote system is disappointing and we regret that the Liberal Democrats were not able to persuade the Conservatives of the merits of giving the public a say on whether to adopt a proportional voting system. But we recognise that with the Labour Party equally opposed little progress can be made in this area on an inter-party basis in the short term.

“Nonetheless, politicians underestimate the groundswell in favour of a fair voting system at their peril. With our allies in the Take Back Parliament campaign we will continue to make the case for giving the public a real say in how their elect their representatives.

“We wish the new coalition government stability and every success. By proving that coalition governments can work in the UK, they themselves will be the best advertisement for electoral reform we have.”

Unlock Democracy have spoken out against the Labour Party’s failure to negotiate over electoral reform in their coalition talks with the Liberal Democrats.

Unlock Democracy understands, from sources within both parties, that Labour are not only refusing to go further than their present commitment to support a referendum on the Alternative Vote system but offer no guarantees that they can even prevent their own MPs from voting the measure down. With the Conservatives offering a tightly whipped vote on holding a referendum for the Alternative Vote, this means that at present a better bet for electoral reform is for the Liberal Democrats to form a coalition with the Conservatives.

Commenting, Director of Unlock Democracy Peter Facey said:

“Moving towards the Alternative Vote system is a very small step in the right direction but for the Conservatives it is a big deal. The fact that Labour are not willing to consider further reforms suggests that they are not serious about forming a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, which would be precarious in any case. Yet again their manifesto commitments do not seem to be worth the paper they are printed on.

“This is a historic moment for the Labour Party which they should seize with both hands. They have an opportunity to form a great reforming coalition: taking big money out of politics, reforming the House of Lords; completing devolution. Instead, they seem intent on withdrawing into their comfort zones on the opposition benches. After 13 years of failing to uphold their promise of a referendum on electoral reform, history will not judge this final act of betrayal kindly.

“If Labour are concerned about major decisions like this being decided behind closed doors by political parties, they should commit themselves to establishing a citizens’ convention on electoral reform to agree on a system which will be put to the public in a referendum. It is the voters themselves, not politicians, who should get to decide how they elect their representatives.”

Commenting on Lord Ashcroft recent personal statement, Director of Unlock Democracy Peter Facey said:

“This statement has proved without doubt that Lord Ashcroft is the Lord Loophole of Party Funding.

“This statement confirms that, whilst not technically breaking the agreements he made, he is clearly acting against the spirit in which they were made. We wager the average man on the street’s definition of ‘permanent residence’ differs greatly from that which has been agreed in a Whitehall backroom.

“We are also gobsmacked that the minimum requirements for a seat in the House of Lords are that someone lives in the UK most of the time and should not be a serving diplomat for a foreign country.

“Lord Ashcroft is a very influential figure in British politics, not just through his role as Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party, but through his funding of political blogs such as Conservative Home and his pioneering of the target seat campaign strategy. He is right when he cites other politically influential ‘non dom’s’ – he is by no means the only one and it is a worrying trend that large donors from all sides have been given peerages or membership of the Privy Council.

“The loopholes in party funding legislation must be closed. Our politics is poorer if it dependent on the wallets of multimillionaires. We can’t go on like this. The only solution is for a cap on political donations across the board, and ensuring people a say on who sits in a fully elected second chamber.”

The Director of Unlock Democracy will be presenting evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee tomorrow (11am, 13 January), arguing that referendums could perform a crucial role in rebuilding trust in British politics.

Peter Facey, who was the founding director of Unlock Democracy following Charter 88’s merger with the New Politics Network, will argue that referendums should be held to approve any significant change in the nature of the relationship between the citizen and the state. This would include extending devolution, changing the powers of the European Union and changing human rights legislation.

“Referendums are one of the few options available in the UK for entrenching a law and making it more difficult for a future government to simply reverse it. It is right that the public are given a say in matters of constitutional significance; at a time when when trust in the political system is at an all time low, it is right that we consider extending their use.

“It is crucial however that the use of referendums is codified and not left to suit the agenda of the government of the day. The confusion over whether a referendum should be called to ratify the Lisbon Treaty is a case in point. Referendums should not be dependent on the exact wording of a manifesto commitment; there should be called to settle a matter of constitutional importance.”

Peter Facey will be giving evidence alongside Peter Kellner, president of YouGov.

Evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee on the use of referendums