Jonathon Coulter
I am retired, an active cyclist in good health, having spent most of my career working in overseas development. Part of that time I was a civil servant, which taught me the benefits of an independent depoliticised civil service such as we have had by and large in the UK, rather than the highly politicised systems I found in many countries in which I worked. I am a Liberal Democrat, but most of my political activity is of a cross-party or non-partisan nature, for which reason I feel I am a "natural" for Unlock Democracy.
Two areas have particularly drawn my attention:
The need for regulatory reform of our mainstream news media and social media – without which democracy cannot function properly. Such concerns caused me to launch the first (and I think only) Judicial Review of IPSO, the so-called regulator of the leading press titles (with the assistance of the Hacked Off campaign), and since then, to participate in the activities of the Media Reform Coalition.
Pushing back against false narratives in the public domain. In 2021, I helped establish the non-partisan group CAMPAIN (Campaign against Misrepresentation in Public Affairs, Information and the News www.campain.org) and became secretary of the same. There are many examples of misrepresentation, but the worst concerns policies towards the middle east that are hostage to the Israel lobby and our outdated "special relationship" with the USA.
I am mindful that many politicians of the centre try at all costs to steer clear of middle eastern issues, and some even take money from Israel lobbyists. However this is proving short-sighted – given the sheer aggression and bestiality committed in the service of the State of Israel (of which there is abundant evidence in the public domain), the imperialistic designs of the Americans under Biden and even more under Trump, and the way in which legitimate protest is being criminalised in the UK. We must make a firm and principled stand on this, or the consequences will be worse.
I really like Unlock Democracy's "Theory of Democracy" and sense the principles up close. At a time when thousands of people are being arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 for simply holding up signs, "Freedom of expression" is not a distant concept for me. We need massive safeguards against the influence of the super-rich and tech conglomerates who have built political manipulation into their business models. This should start by requiring transparency in funds channelled through shell-companies and so-called "think-tanks" that support Nigel Farage and right-wing Conservatives.
We also need to drastically reform our approach to regulating foreign influence. CAMPAIN has recently been focusing attention on Jonathan Hall KC, "Reviewer of Terrorism and State Threats Legislation". His approach, or maybe his mandate, says much about what is wrong in the UK. Notably, he is unable to consider the possibility that state threats emanate from countries that are nominally our allies, like Israel and the USA, as opposed to "official enemies" like Russia, China and Iran. I am not suggesting that the influence of the latter countries on the UK is benign, but a sovereign UK must stand back and look at the threats in the round.
I shall need to apply a similarly rigorous approach to other policy areas in which Unlock Democracy engages.