Labour, power and democratic renewal

By Pam Giddy / @Power2010

Much has been made of Gordon Brown’s decision to introduce paving legislation for a referendum on electoral reform to the Alternative Vote. If this is not to smack of electioneering and smoky backrooms, let alone play a real force in the struggle for democratic renewal, then Labour’s initiative must be developed into a truly popular debate and engagement.

At Power2010, we have already begun the project of a truly diverse and mass discussion on the shape of British democracy, starting by opening the agenda to the public which saw us receive 4,500 ideas for democratic renewal in just over two months.

They say in a referendum it’s all in how you phrase the question. Therein lies the rub. Gordon Brown’s agenda was not set openly through public consultation. How much more compelling would it have been to ask the public which method they favour to select their representatives in a process of meaningful debate and deliberation?

During Power2010’s Deliberative Poll, 130 citizens from across the UK of all political backgrounds and walks of life, discussed the changes they wanted to see to our democracy over the course of a weekend.

On Saturday, 43% of people backed the Alternative Vote; on the Sunday – after discussing it – only 36.6% did. Support for a more proportional system, meanwhile, rose from 48% to 53% and is now leading the list of reforms in the public vote.

Though the agenda hasn’t been set by the public there is still time to create a real popular discussion. Forward thinking groups concerned with the creation of a more just, equal and sustainable Britain have increasingly pointed to electoral reform as the key to forging that ever elusive “progressive consensus” that Jon Cruddas explains has held a majority in the country (if not in Parliament) since 1945.

The Labour Party must not be afraid of engaging in mass and diverse discussion on the shape of democracy. A good start would be to follow the lead of Progress, Compass and LabourList by engaging seriously with Power2010 – debating with, and then voting alongside, members of the Muslim Council of Britain, the Tory Reform Group, the British Youth Council, the Salvation Army, the Countryside Alliance, NO2ID and Unlock Democracy among many others. Likewise, the recent TUC pamphlet “Getting it in Proportion” is a welcome addition to the debate, setting out why a more pluralistic politics would be socially valuable.

A written constitution – which the Prime Minister hopes to see by the 800th Anniversary of Magna Carta in 2015 – is currently in the top five most popular reforms and, who knows, with support from LabourList readers, it along with Recall and Lords Reform could also triumph in public debate and add to the growing momentum behind Brown’s proposals.

Democracy begins and ends with the people, a broad public debate must be cultivated if Brown’s reforms are to be at all legitimate. And, hey, we might find that such an approach actually makes real change feasible – it’s the only way any future referendum on AV will be won.

Vote for your idea of democratic renewal here.