As I turned 16 and started sixth form, politics became the most common topic amongst my peers. Conversations went from makeup brands and TV shows to UK politics and electoral systems around the world. Students were more informed about politics through News and discussions with teachers. I recall the whole class receiving a BBC News notification on our phones when the UK’s former Prime Minister, Liz Truss, resigned on the 20th of October, 2022.
The practice of dual mandates, or double jobbing, has been a minor but persistent problem since the establishment of devolved parliaments and assemblies at the end of the 1990s.
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.
Our home, mine and my family's, is in London’s suburbs. We get to vote at multiple levels. We get to choose 3 elected members - Councillors - in our ward once every 4 years.
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.
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.
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.
Proportional Representation (PR) for the House of Commons has been a thorny issue in UK politics for over a century. It has had its supporters, detractors and those who have flip-flopped on the issue. These groups naturally included political parties and their leaders.
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?
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.
We hosted a discussion entitled 'What next for UK democracy?' Joining us were Lord Newby, leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, and Josiah Mortimer, chief reporter for Byline Times.
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!
In France and now Germany, we are seeing the disturbing rise of far right political parties. But while those parties are getting a lot of headlines, they are not getting hands on power.
The Ministerial Code requires Ministers to publish a record of all their meetings with external organisations on a quarterly basis. In April this year, new guidance was issued on when and how this information should be published.
On International Day of Democracy, we reflect on the vital importance of democratic principles and the need to safeguard them both domestically and globally. However, the celebration of democracy is tempered by a global landscape increasingly fraught with challenges.
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.
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?
The final round of the French elections took place on 7th July and it saw defeat for the far right National Rally.
The UK General Election on 4th July 2024 saw one of the lowest turnouts in British democratic history, with less than 60% of registered voters turning up at polling stations to vote.
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.