If it’s Liberals getting Labour over the line, significant Westminster reform must be non-negotiable.
If Great Britain is the so-called ‘mother of democracy’… our maw must still be clinging on to the past in some sort of mid-life crisis.
She’s gawn out to clubs and bringing folk back for afters during the week even though the bairns are in another room sleepin. She’ll be huvin a mental breakdown fae all the bevy consumed the night before, lashing out at her loved ones as a result.
‘We’re just trying to help, Mum’… only be told to ‘F’ off and sent tae your room. Locked in the gaff out of guilt even though you’ve got sh*t to do.
We currently live in a democracy in which the Government can vandalise the economy, our environment and so many other facets of our lives against the general will of the people. The majority of us did not vote for Conservatives in Britain and yet the same party can boast an 80-seat majority, supposedly giving them the right to do whatever they want.
I canny help but wonder how much better our lives would be if Westminster was dictated to by a more proportional representation of our votes… if the majority of our Parliament, accurately reflecting the voice of the public, were to stand up to Liz Truss and tell her naw because her plans are going to cost us all a fortune. Take a stand to the so blatantly-evident greed of those that fancied “an interesting social experiment” at the expense of the workforce, to take the precise words from Murdo Fraser responding to Liz Truss’ appointment.
Except it wasn’t interesting at all… it was absolutely devastating.
The ethics and standards of politics have undoubtedly deteriorated over the past few years. Gutter politics masking corruption is commonplace.
Politically speaking, a catalogue of errors made by the Conservatives has meant it’s holiday time for parties such as Labour (and the SNP before the police investigation saga). Bold and ambitious policy suggestions aren’t required to win over public approval, they simply need to point over to the blue corner and remind us how bad it’s been.
A ray of light emerged back in December. Former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, released a substantial document which would see much-needed improvement to operations in Westminster.
He suggested a smaller, democratic and regionally representative body of political oversight to replace the House of Lords. A civil jury monitoring the standards of MP’s behaviour, supplemented by an ‘Independent Integrity and Ethics Commission.’ Parliament would have a greater role in deciding what it means to uphold the ‘ministerial code.’
Music to the ears of many readers, I’m sure.
And yet I couldn’t help but think Brown’s intentions are questionable.
Why? Well, there’s a glaringly obvious item missing that, incidentally, protects the power interests of HIS party & the electoral success they’ve enjoyed from a two-party system.
More proportionally representative elections, ending the idea of ‘safe seats’ and, in turn, forcing MPs to listen to the concerns of their constituents, inevitably improving our public services through accountability, a concrete assurance of reasonable compromise when making decisions so that we’re protected from ego-driven power trips… surely this is at the top of our to-do list after the chaos of recent years? Surely forcing climate protestors into jail time and funding tax breaks for rich people on large-scale borrowing is enough to make that a priority?
Adding to my doubts is the continued fence-sitting from Brown’s Party leader, Keir Starmer, who has resisted commitment to any of these suggestions & is still doing so today.
And isn’t it telling… the deafening silence on such reform since that same intervention? It genuinely feels like years ago, let alone months.
It probably didn’t help that the conversation to follow ended with news outlets asking whether this ‘really’ is a pressing issue amid cost of living concerns… maybe that’s a story in itself. Cos I’d argue the complete opposite.
The economic catastrophe allowed by an ex-Prime Minister, with a thinly supported mandate, resulting in a monumental increase in mortgage payments, funding ludicrous elevation in bonuses for bankers… I think this constitutes a fairly urgent need for radical reform.
Scottish Liberal Democrats leader, Alex-Cole Hamilton, has been insistent that they will be part of the future soon to come… integral to the upcoming reform.
Perhaps he’s hinting at a potential coalition with Labour if they’re needed to get them over the line.
In the spirit of everything Liberals stand for, spanning decades, I beg of their top-level decision-makers to stand their ground in protest for this kind of reform.
If Labour won’t promise proportional representation, please exercise that system in reality by vetoing a power-sharing agreement. Want our help? These are our demands. Get off the fence on the House of Lords, on ethical standards in Westminster and on this archaic voting system; give us the real change that Britain needs – power back into the hands of that same vote everyone possesses.
If opposition parties are happy to feast on the shortcomings of the current Government, they better make sure they put in place the scale of change needed when they get the chance.
Otherwise, they’re just as bad.
Comments