The course of human events

@LabourList Editorial

Often regarded as the founding document of modern democracy, the US Declaration of Independence noted that representation derives its just authority from the consent of the governed; that where it becomes destructive of its ultimate purpose, it is the Right of the People to act to amend it.

Over the last week, the People have begun to re-deploy that right. Once we’d learned that our democratic machines were being employed for personal gain by public deception, a groundswell of disgust levelled above the heads of our representatives and sank our processes to the depths.

There is no doubt that we do not yet know the fullest consequences of this national scandal. Already, the Speaker of the House has fallen and the powerful have departed in shame – though unquestionably several more will yet be made to walk the plank.

But thankfully, we are now beginning to reach the point at which threat morphs into opportunity. Yesterday, the Guardian carried a four-page supplement outlining how we can harness anger and turn it to action, and how we might repair and invigorate our democracy in the process.

There were renewed calls for a written constitution and a gradual reduction of the monarchy as the masters of our ceremony. There was support for devolving power from the cabinet to the backbenches. There were emboldened demands for an elected second chamber to expand the reach of our enfranchisement. There were calls to end political nepotism. And there was a timely reminder that the web could still be one of the greatest openers to engagement that there’s ever been, as the Guardian asked readers to contribute to the discussion as equals.

On LabourList this week, that grassroots energy – that voice of the hitherto silent majority – has been loud. The letter to the NEC, eventually signed by over 200 activists, forced the Party to take firmer action on those representatives who have abused our faith. When the leadership was moved to say only those Members who had broken the rules would reface their constituents – but perhaps not those who had pushed them to their moral limits – the activists said “not good enough“. Because the Constitution that so naturally followed Independence also enshrined the right to engage in open selection by the Primary ballot.

Many of those loyal activists are themselves Parliamentary candidates, who went on to self-impose a strict but common and commonly-sensed code of ethics for their campaigns and prospective stays in the House, choosing as they should to lead by example.

And the results of our leadership poll also spoke a clear message to our Party elders: grab the bull by the horns to enact the Will of the People, or accept their right to amend.

As one of our readers said last week, the Labour Party isn’t a child that magically popped up one day – it was born from people who wanted change, people who wanted to give a real alternative and people who were willing to listen.