Sarah Clarke, Unlock Democracy

How we choose to respond to COVID-19 will shape our society, economy, health, and climate for decades to come. There are many choices in front of us - so where do we go next? Do we try to go back to business-as-usual, or rebuild a system that’s better?

What has the pandemic revealed about business-as-usual?

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, our political system and economy were already faltering. Business-as-usual wasn’t working for most people.

Despite record levels of employment before the outbreak of COVID-19, the UK also had staggering[1] levels of in-work poverty. This was being driven by rising housing costs, a decimated social security system, and a minimum wage that for many, wasn’t covering the cost of living. Around 1 in 3 children are living in poverty[2] - a number which has been steadily rising over the last decade. 

Despite the UK being the fifth richest economy in the world, poverty and inequality were spiralling. The UK has greater regional inequality[3] than any other advanced economy. 

In this light, it is not so surprising that many of us had stopped trusting the UK government. The Hansard Society’s 2019 Audit of Political Engagement found[4] opinions of our government to be the worst since the audit started - and even lower than in the wake of the expenses scandal. With nearly three quarters of us thinking that our system of government is in need of change, the question shouldn’t be how to return to a ‘normal’ that wasn’t really working, but instead, how can we rebuild our system so that it starts working better for all of us?

A just recovery 

If we need a guide for thinking about what should come next - if not a return to business-as-usual - a starting point can be our shared values. We don’t have to rely on the broken systems of the past, we can redesign our democracy so that it works better for all of us. 

Most of us want to live in a fair society. That means having a good system of government - one where our democratic institutions listen and respond to communities, and take actions that protect people and the planet. 

The first step forward might be to focus on making sure that we have a just recovery to COVID-19. It is possible for us to emerge from the pandemic with more resilient systems, with the voices of communities centred, and with our hard-won rights, liberties, and democracy strengthened.

Unlock Democracy has joined with organisations and campaigns from around the world to call for a just recovery to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are calling for responses to COVID-19 at every level to uphold these five principles:

Read more about the about the principles for a just recovery.

What changes to our political system would you want to see as part of a just recovery?

Comment below

References

[1] Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2020) - what has driven the rise of in-work poverty?

[2] The Guardian (2020) - UK faces child poverty crisis, say charities

[3] IPPR North (2019) - The State of the North report

[4] The Hansard Society (2019) - The Audit of Political Engagement 16: 2019 report