Shaun Roberts Shaun Roberts

Government must act to keep foreign money out of UK politics

Elon Musk is not the problem. At least, to be more precise, when it comes to political donations, Musk is not the problem. The problem is the framework of law that would allow any foreign citizen living abroad to make a multi-million pound donation, via a UK company, to a UK political party.

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Shaun Roberts Shaun Roberts

A rude awakening on donations

The world’s richest man is threatening to donate £79million to Reform UK. 

There is no limit on political donations in our country. If someone wants to buy into UK politics in a big way, there’s nothing to stop them.

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Shaun Roberts Shaun Roberts

Unlock Democracy in Conversation with Jennifer Nadel

We hosted a webinar with Jennifer Nadel, co-founder and director of Compassion in Politics. Compassion in Politics is an organisation dedicated to creating a political system for the UK that is guided by empathy, fairness, and integrity.

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Shaun Roberts Shaun Roberts

Parliament Week: Youth Representation Matters

For young people’s voices to be heard by politicians, we need a stronger presence in Parliament. Unlock Democracy Council Members Chanté O'Shaughnessy and Luke Williams make the case for youth representation.

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Shaun Roberts Shaun Roberts

Overseas voters deserve an equal right to vote

At this summer’s general election, only just over half of the votes of all registered postal voters living overseas were counted. Many were denied that right. But as a new report demonstrates, solutions are at hand.

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Shaun Roberts Shaun Roberts

Is First Past the Post a threat to US democracy?

It’s been a frequent refrain from Democrats at this US Presidential election that “democracy is on the ballot”. But is another challenge for US democracy not just on the ballot, but how the votes will be counted?

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Shaun Roberts Shaun Roberts

The United States Election: An American's Perspective

Democracy in the United States is currently in a rather poor state, and polarisation amongst the Conservative and Democratic parties is a large part of the problem. There are three areas where this can be seen the most–the economy, immigration, and abortion.

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Shaun Roberts Shaun Roberts

Sir Keir Starmer’s Trousers

It’s an odd thought that someone bought the then leader of His Majesty’s opposition some trousers. The last time someone chose trousers for me it was my mum, in the 70s!

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Shaun Roberts Shaun Roberts

The Worst of Times, the Best of Times

With businesses still boarded up, and the extensive damage caused far right rioters still visible in many of our towns and cities, now might not be considered the best time to assess the strength and relevance of Articles 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights which guarantee the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

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Shaun Roberts Shaun Roberts

We must do all we can to protect the right to peaceful protest

The next few weeks will be an acid test for the Starmer government: as they bring the rioting under control, will they honour the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, and restore our longstanding, traditional right to peaceful protest? 

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