5 ideas for a democratic society

Right now, many of us feel that the UK’s political system simply isn’t working. A majority of us feel that politicians don’t listen to us, that the system is only advancing the interests of the rich and powerful, and that we have no power to influence change.

But politics doesn’t have to be this way. A better system is both in our imagination, and also within our grasp - it’s possible to build a new political system that is more democratic than one we’ve ever had before in the UK. Here are 5 ways we build a democratic society:

1. Economic, social, and environmental justice

The right to clean air and education, the right to fair and equal pay, and the right to minimum welfare standards - these are all “rights that most of us encounter every day”, as described by Koldo Casla of JustFair.

Right now, the UK is an outlier among democracies because we rely on EU law and rules for the protection of cultural, social, economic, and environmental rights. These protections will be lost after Brexit.

Social, economic and environmental justice can be realised - but that has to start with our rights being set out in law so that they are protected from interference by the government of the day.

2. Public - not corporate - control of our public services and institutions

In a democracy, the services we all use and depend on should be operated in the interests of the public and be accountable to the public. A decade of austerity has meant that many public services have been either abolished or outsourced to unaccountable corporations. Many of our public services are either gone, or being run in service of the private financial gain of shareholders.

According to We Own It, public ownership is not only popular, but it actually works. Democracy is not just about voting, it is also about our public institutions and services being owned by and accountable to the public. We Own It’s 21st century model for public ownership is one way that we could democratise public services by putting them back in public hands.

3. Power exercised by and closest to the people impacted by decisions

The UK is one of the most overcentralised democracies in the world. While there has been progress on devolving power from the UK parliament in Westminster to the nations and regions, it’s a job that hasn’t been finished.

Citizens' assemblies are just one model of deliberative democracy that could devolve power to local communities. A demographically representative sample of citizens chosen through jury-style selection deliberates on an issue, and puts their recommendations to political institutions. They are being used around the world to great success, and are just one way that both local and national government could put people at the heart of decision-making.

4. Accountability of people who do hold power

There are so many ways our political system is rigged to protect the position and interests of those with power. For example, political corruption has become accepted as business-as-usual, with lax regulations around money in politics turning our political system into a playground for the rich.

At the moment, millions of voters can’t hold politicians to account because of our first past the post electoral system. Research by the Electoral Reform Society shows that this protects individual politicians in safe seats from being voted out of office. The two main political parties also have their position protected, since these tend to win a disproportionate number of seats at elections - at the expense of smaller parties.

Introducing a system of proportional representation in UK elections would make votes count fairly, giving many people the ability to really hold politicians to account which they don’t have right now.

5. A new constitution written by and for the people

When the contract between citizen and state is unwritten, those who hold the reins of political power ultimately get to decide what the rules of the game are. We don’t have a functioning democracy if politicians instead of the people are shaping what political system we have.

The UK needs a new and written constitution that clearly defines the relationship between citizen and state, imposes limits on the power of the government, and affirms the power of the people over politicians.

Done right, the process of creating and codifying our constitution could be a moment of political transformation. A citizen-led constitutional convention - just like the one soon to be tested by the Citizens’ Convention on UK Democracy - would put decisions about the future of the UK to the people, and has the potential to create a more democratic political system than we’ve ever seen before.

Join the movement to demand democracy and a new constitution

This blog is by Sarah, Unlock Democracy’s Senior Policy and Communications Officer