Tory Party Democracy - Episode 6 - Party Funding under William Hague

There were differences of opinion with regards to Party Funding.   Should there be a cap on it? What about democratic accountability.   How was it resolved?

Tory Party Democracy - Episode 5 - The selection and re-selection of Candidates

See how Michael Heseltine gets annoyed.   The decline & fall of Jeffrey Archer, and how we got secret ballots.

Tory Party Democracy - Episode 4 - The Birth of the Conservative Party Constitution

This video shows how the Conservative Party came about.   Before this the Conservative Party as a whole had no legal existence!

Democracy in the Tory Party - Episode 3 - The Leadership Election of William Hague

Shows how Party members got One member One Vote in the Tory Party Leadership elections

Democracy in the Tory Party - Episode 2 - "The Major Years"

At a time when Party funding became a crisis.   How did Party members re-act?   See "The Major Years" to find out.

Democracy in the Tory Party - Episode 1 Part 2 Northern Ireland after the vote.

What happened in Northern Ireland after the vote at the Party Conference to allow the people of Northern Ireland to be members of the Conservative Party

The Decline and Fall of Democracy in the Conservative Party

This is the first in a series of films about the decline of democracy in the Tory Party.   This is an issue which should concern everyone.   If our political parties are undemocratic organisations, what legitimacy does a government have which has been created out of these undemocratic organisations?
This first film which was created several years ago tells how the people of Northern Ireland were allowed to become members of the Tory Party.   Your views on this are welcome.

The Twentieth Century - Votes for women at last.

Go to The Twentieth Century - Votes for women at last  - " All women over 21 now get the vote"  (Updated 31st July 2018)

There is more to democracy than just a cross on a ballot paper

There is more to democracy than just a cross on a ballot paper.    Rule of Law is essential before you can have democracy.   Another essential is the security of the State.   In World War II my father gave his life fighting against the tyranny of the Nazi regime.   The following film on Youtube is a personal
account in his memory: The Battle of Monte Natale.  

How others see us?

Looking at the convoluted negotiations taking place with the European Union I am reminded of what Leo Tolstoy said in “War and Peace”:

Germans are self confident on the basis of an abstract notion  – science, that is, the supposed knowledge of absolute truth.

A Frenchman is self assured because he regards himself personally both in mind and body as irresistibly attractive to men and women.

An Englishman is self assured as being a citizen of the best organised state in the world, and therefore, as an Englishman, always knows what he should do and knows that all he does as an Englishman is undoubtedly correct.

An Italian is self assured because he is excitable and easily forgets himself and other people.

A Russian is self assured just because he knows nothing and does not want to know anything, since he does not believe anything can be known.

The German’s self-assurance is the worst of all, stronger and more repulsive than any other, because he imagines that he knows the truth – science- which he himself has invented but which for him is the absolute truth.

If only?

Which side of the fence do you sit on?

If you ever wondered what side of the fence you sit on, this is a good test!

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If a Conservative supporter doesn't like guns, they don't buy one.

If a Labour supporter doesn't like guns, they want all guns outlawed.

If a Conservative is a vegetarian, they don't eat meat.

If a Labour is a vegetarian, they want all meat products banned for everyone.

If a Conservative is gay, they quietly lead their life.

If a Labour is gay, they demand legislated respect.

If a Conservative is down-and-out, they think about how to better their situation.

If a Labour is down and out they wonder who is going to take care of them.

If a Conservative doesn't like a talk show, they switch channels.

If a Labour doesn’t like a talk show they demand that those they don't like should be        banned.

If a Conservative is a non-believer, they don't go to church.

If a Labour is a non-believer they want any mention of God and religion silenced

If a Conservative reads this, they'll forward it so their friends can have a good laugh.

If a Labour reads this they will delete it because they're "offended."

Devolution

The most widely discussed dilemma posed by devolution is the West Lothian question, named as such by Enoch Powell after the then constituency of Tam Dalyell, the Labour MP who argued against the 1970s devolution proposals.   This is about the anomaly created if a wide range of social and home affairs issues are devolved to a Scottish Parliament, but remain with the Westminster Parliament in England.   Consequently, Scottish MPs could vote in the Commons on such issues affecting England but not when it affects their own constituents north of the border.

The Government has tried to overcome this problem by having English Votes for English Laws.   What they have created is a bureaucratic nightmare with little if any accountability.   In order to overcome the West Lothian question England should have its own Parliament.   The total number of parliamentarians in England, Wales, Scotland Northern Ireland and Westminster (United Kingdom) should not exceed 600 including the devolved Parliaments.

            A Federal structure for the United Kingdom should be created with each country within the Kingdom having its own Parliament.

The Government White Paper on Scotland’s Parliament, published by the Scottish Office in July 1997, stated explicitly that “The UK Parliament is and will remain sovereign”.   The Scotland Act 1998 repeated the phrase.

The Scottish Parliament has legislative competence over matters that once were the responsibility of the Scottish Office, such as health, education, local government and law and order.   It also has tax-varying powers.   It can add up to 3p on the basic rate of income tax.

Having established a Federal structure each national parliament can then decide which powers are devolved and to what level.

There is a never-ending conflict between central government and local government.   Both claim to have a democratic mandate and both claim to know what is best for the people.   Local government wants to provide the relevant services for their locality and to prioritise them.   Central government wants to retain financial control and to ensure that national standards are met so how can this conflict be resolved?   Let the people decide!

The parliaments of each nation would set out enabling legislation showing what powers could be devolved to a local level.   A local constitutional convention could then be held to consider the constitution of the proposed authority and the particular powers to be transferred to it.   The convention would produce a proposal which would be subject to a referendum in all the local authority areas covered by the proposal.   The result of the referendum would be final.

Local government should be self-financing, itself raising the money that it spends.   In such a scenario there is a strong case for as much power as possible to be transferred from central government to local government and in order most closely to meet the wishes of the people that power should be devolved to the lowest level of local government as possible.   Democratic accountability would then ensure that those responsible for raising the moneys locally were also accountable for the way those monies were spent  By these measures the aims and objectives of both local and national government could be reconciled and their aims and objects clearly delineated.

All the expenditure of local government should be financed out of taxes raised by local government subject to an adjustment for special needs financed by central government.

Devolving power carries with it a greater responsibility on the citizen to participate, so when power is devolved:

Local citizens should be left in no doubt that their system of government is going to change.   The change will involve them taking greater responsibility for their environment and services.   They must be left with no excuses if they refuse to participate.   Localism tends to involve, most immediately and controversially, variations in local taxes.   Such variations concentrate the democratic mind.   That is the franchise biting.   That is what drives people to vote. “Big Bang Localism by Simon Jenkins

The methods chosen for elections at local level vary considerably, but in England they are based on the First Past the Post system of election.   This produces much distorted results.   In the 2006 local elections in the London Borough of Newham, Labour with 41.8% of the vote got 90% of the seats.   At a National level, in the 2002 local elections the Conservative Party got 72.2% of the seats with only 43.9% of the votes.   It is one of the scandals of local politics and no doubt contributes to the reason why turnout in local elections is so low.

            This is clearly wrong and produces wholly unrepresentative local government.   In future:

            Local government elections should be conducted under the Single Transferable Vote system of proportional representation with three members in each ward.

One final point, democracy in Northern Ireland is distorted by entrenching the rights of minorities and entrenching the sharing of power.   The Belfast Peace Agreement can however claim one major success – after many years of terrorism it brought some stability to Northern Ireland and drastically reduced the number of terrorist acts.   This was critical.   However the democratic fault lines are now becoming apparent.   Because of power sharing there is no way for the will of the people to be fully exercised.   Minorities have to be protected, but that protection has to be with the consent of the majority and there has to be some mechanism by which ultimately the majority can exercise their will.   By giving a minority effective control in particular areas, at some point, the majority will rise against what is being done.

            Over a period of time the blocking mechanisms in the Northern Ireland Assembly should be reduced, eventually to zero, to bring Northern Ireland into line with normal democracy.

The Tectonic Plates are Shifting!

Sign the Parliamentary Petition to Make Votes Matter!

A parliamentary petition calling for Proportional Representation (PR) in the House of Commons already has over 97,000 signatures. If it gets over 100,000 we can demand a full Parliamentary debate - in which a growing number of MPs from all parties will be able to make the case for changing our outdated electoral system once and for all.

The petition can help us put PR right at the centre of the UK's political debate and ensure that the call for fair votes from the vast majority of the population cannot be ignored.

Please sign the petition to Make Votes Matter here.

Vortigern's Mistake

For those students of history one area which does not get a great deal of coverage is the time between when the Romans left Britain and the Anglo-Saxon invasions.   My cousin Lynda Whiteley has just brought out a short book covering this period.   It is well worth reading.  Click on "Vortigern's Mistake" to go to her web site.

The Second Reform Act to the end of the Century 1860 to 1900

Go to The Second Reform Act to see the latest update "The end of the 19th century - where is democracy now?"    Updated 27th December 2017

Why BREXIT won!

The following article was posted on the unlockdemocracy web site on 27th October 2016

Take Back Control: The EU and Democracy
by John Strafford


In the referendum held on 23rd June to decide whether the United Kingdom should stay in, or leave the European Union 49% of those who voted to leave gave their main reason for doing so was to “take back control of our country.”   This was the number one reason for leaving.   Put another way – in spite of all the faults in our democracy - at a General Election you can vote for the person you wish to represent you in our legislature and by so doing determine who shall form our government. You cannot do this in the European Union.   Fundamentally the European Union is totally undemocratic and shows no indication of changing.
The Council of Ministers – part of the legislative process – meets in secret; the only legislative body in the world that meets behind closed doors, other than North Korea, and they are beginning to change.
The European Commission, which brings forward legislation is unelected by and unaccountable to the people.
The European Parliament, which is supposedly the democratic element of the European Union, has a number of serious flaws;
Each vote is not of equal value – a vote in Luxembourg is fifteen times the value of a vote in the United Kingdom.   The United Kingdom with an electorate of 44.5 million elects 73 MEPs. Luxembourg with an electorate 240,000 elects 6 MEPs.
The United Kingdom uses primarily the Closed List system of voting for the European Parliament. As a result, you cannot vote for the individual you wish to represent you in the parliament or indeed vote for someone to get rid of the individual who at present represents you.   Under the Closed List system you can only vote for a political party and it is the party which determines the order of the list.
Each country in the European Union can decide what electoral system to use to elect their MEPs. The United Kingdom in the same election for the same parliament uses two systems – the Closed List in England, Scotland and Wales and in Northern Ireland the Single Transferable Vote. No other parliament in the world has this kind of arrangement.
The age at which an elector can vote in elections to the European Parliament varies dependent upon the National Parliament’s criteria for voting.
The European wide turnout in the 2014 European Parliament Election was 42.54%. This was an all time low. The people of Europe are losing faith in the institution of its parliament. Without radical reform to make it a democratic organisation the electorates of other members of the Union will want to leave.   The lack of democracy is a fatal flaw in the institution.
This lack of democracy in the European Union was the main reason the people of the United Kingdom voted to “take back control of our country”.
Now that we are on track to tackle one of the democratic fault lines in our democracy we can concentrate our efforts on remedying the other fault lines – an unelected, ever expanding  House of Lords, the First Past the Post electoral system, party finance and other issues.   Let us get on with them so we can create a true and fair democracy in the United Kingdom. Perhaps the most important of these issues is a change in our electoral system to proportional representation, so what are the chances of this being achieved?
Having just won a General Election and having a substantial lead in the polls the Conservative Party are unlikely to support any change in the electoral system so any change to First Past The Post will require the support of a substantial number of Labour MPs.   At present it looks unlikely that the Labour Party can win the next General Election in 2020.   If this present condition persists in 2019 there could be a move to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Leader of the Party.   It is possible that he remains Leader but a new position of Leader of the Parliamentary Party is created who would lead the Party into the General Election..
If the Scottish National Party maintain their stranglehold in Scotland and UKIP get their act together and attack Labour seats in the North of England we can envisage a situation where it looks impossible for the Labour Party to win a General Election with an overall majority.   In such circumstances proportional representation may be their only opportunity to participate in government.   It could then form part of their 2020 General Election manifesto.
All this is of course academic if the Conservative Party win an overall majority in the General Election, but can one be certain of this?   Between now and 2020 the BREXIT negotiations have to be completed. This will cause bitter arguments within the Party. The economy might be facing turbulence.   The Labour Party could have a million members and thus be capable of fighting a ground campaign across the board.   The Conservative Party with 150,000 members would not be able to fight such a ground campaign.   With an insurgent UKIP, targeting marginal seats would not be possible for the Tories because of the difficulty of deciding which seats are marginal. With these disadvantages the Conservatives could end up being the largest Party in parliament but not get an overall majority.   The only way the Conservatives could mitigate this position would be to make the Party more democratic in order to attract new members.   They show no sign of doing this.
If the Conservative Party does not get an overall majority in the General Election and the opposition parties combine together to push forward with Proportional Representation they could succeed in changing the electoral system.
This post represents the views of the author and not those of Unlock Democracy

Demo for Democracy 7th May 2016

Speaking in favour of a fair democracy. Watch Here.

The Great Reform Act and its aftermath - 1830 - 1860

Go to The Great Reform Act to see the latest update "Where were we on the road to democracy by 1865?"   (updated weekly - last updated 6th February 2017)

Why do we need Proportional Representation?

Watch this video for why we need proportional representation.

The case for Proportional Representation.

Getting together.   Watch: The case for Proportional Representation gathers pace.