Richard Wood

Richard Wood is an electoral reform campaigner based in London and originally from Edinburgh:

• Unlock Democracy councillor since 2024

• Former Electoral Reform Society council member

• Lib Dems for Electoral Reform campaigner

• Experienced public affairs professional, having previously worked for an MP in Westminster covering political reform

Experience

Experienced in the sector and with a passion for electoral reform:

Unlock Democracy: council member since 2024; proposed and got passed a policy motion on modernising Westminster.

Board experience in the democracy sector: I served on the Electoral Reform Society board 2022 - 2023.

Lib Dems: Liberal Democrats for Electoral Reform campaigner.

Scotland: Founder of Upgrade Holyrood, calling for better democracy in Scotland after Holyrood's least proportional election.

Westminster: Three years' experience as a parliamentary staffer, covering the political reform portfolio.

Vision

Unlock Democracy and the wider electoral reform movement have momentum, with growing calls for a National Commission on Electoral Reform making progress in parliament. We need to Fix Politics Now:

• Fair votes: Proportional Representation for the House of Commons.

• Abolish the House of Lords: A democratic upper chamber.

• A written and codified constitution.

• Devolve power from Westminster.

• Four-year fixed-term parliaments and better political literacy and education.

Why I'm standing for Council

"Democracy doesn't work as it should. Our voting system isn't fit for purpose, with recent Westminster and English local council elections exposing how the system fails to represent our multi-party politics. The system lacks fairness. And it is in desperate need of a written codified constitution to safeguard our democracy. I look forward to supporting the hugely important work of Unlock Democracy if re-elected to the Council."

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