Power is far too centralised in the UK. We need a radical shift in the balance of power in favour of local government and the people. We need to find new ways of engaging people at both a local and national level in between elections as well as on election day.
Create a Citizens’ Convention
How reforms are made is just as important as what form they take. Too often, politicians have too much of a vested interest in the status
quo to adequately decide on reforms. The decision-making must be taken, in large part, out of their hands. The public must have a stake in
any changes made. No single group has a monopoly on wisdom.
A new UK constitution should develop from a wide-scale process of public discussion, debate and participation. One feature should be a citizens’ convention, comprising a hundred randomly chosen individuals. The convention would consult specialists and the wider public and report its findings back to parliament. Proposals would be subject to a referendum.
Make Direct Democracy a Reality
The UK should make greater use of direct democracy at both a national and local level to complement and, on occasion, challenge representative democracy. Democracy is not simply a matter of majority rule, therefore there needs to be clear rules about where direct democracy can and cannot be used.
As a first step towards introducing more direct democracy, parliament should introduce:
- A petitions committee in the House of Commons.
- A ‘people’s bill’ system whereby a specific proposal would be automatically debated and voted on in parliament, and thus
potentially become law, if a million people petitioned for it. - A veto system triggering a referendum if a million people petition to overturn an act of parliament within six months of it becoming
law.
Radically Increase Devolution and Decentralisation
The process of devolution started in 1997 is ongoing in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Outside of London, the process of devolution in England has not even begun. The right to self government should form a central principle in the UK constitution. Specifically:
- Communities and nations in the UK should be able to choose the nature and pace of devolution themselves, with only certain
powers reserved at a UK level. - If 5% of the electorate in a specific area petition for selfgovernment, an independent deliberative process should be established to decide what form this should take, and its recommendations should be subject to a referendum. We take no position on whether or not areas should remain as part of the UK.
Stronger Local Government
For far too long in the UK we have had local management, not government, with funding and service delivery targets controlled by central government. This target culture must end. National politicians need to avoid making kneejerk attacks on ‘postcode lotteries’; local differences in service provision are potentially good as they allow best practice to flourish – but they must be accountable to the public. To achieve this:
- Local government must raise a larger proportion of its resources locally, and have much greater flexibility over how to do this, than
at present. - Where local functions must be run centrally they should be subject to local scrutiny by the local authority’s scrutiny panel.
- The status of local government needs to be enhanced, with improved training and increased remuneration for key positions such as scrutiny committee chairs.
Record of Action
Charter 88 played a crucial role in making the case for Scottish and Welsh devolution.
Charter 88 and the New Politics Network also played a leading role in the coalition which delivered the Sustainable Communities Act and Unlock Democracy continues to champion its use. This Act gives local councils, working with the communities they serve, a right to demand greater powers from central government.
See also
