In the few short months since the scandal over MPs’ expenses broke, politicians from all parties have agreed that the system needs to be changed. Many have promised to investigate changes, or to consider various ideas. Only the Liberal Democrats, however, have set out concrete proposals to completely reform the system in 100 days.
Our plan is called “Take Back Power”, and central to it is the idea that the government exists to serve the people of this country, not the other way around. We believe that it is time to put power back into the hands of the people.
We are therefore putting forward radical proposals to overhaul this country’s democracy. The first thing to do would be to address the expenses issue by accepting Sir Christopher Kelly’s expenses review in full. But we wouldn’t stop there.
The large political parties spend vast amounts of money on advertising at election time, but so often the money comes from big business and big donors who can then exert power behind the scenes. We would remove the influence of big money from politics for good by limiting donations from a single individual or organisation to £50,000 a year. Spending by political parties should then be capped at £100 million across the electoral cycle.
Where the House of Commons is concerned, we would implement fixed term parliaments. We believe it is wrong that a government can give itself an electoral advantage by choosing the timing of an election to suit the governing party. We would also give the country a referendum on an improved voting system which would allow people to make a real choice about who represents them. Under the current system, half of the constituencies in the UK are “safe seats” which have not changed hands since 1970.
Currently, if an MP is suspended for misconduct, his or her constituents just have to sit back and watch. We would introduce new rules which would give people the power to force a by-election in these circumstances.
For many years now the Liberal Democrats have also called for proper reform of the House of Lords. In fact, MPs of all parties have agreed that it should be 100% elected, but nothing has happened. We want a fully elected upper house to happen as soon as possible.
Hilary Myers, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson for Calder Valley, says:
“I think the scandal over MP’s expenses really demonstrated to people just how vital it is that we address these issues of parliamentary and electoral reform. In the Liberal Democrat Party we have been saying this for years but it came across as a dry subject to many voters. Now people are realising that our politics in this country will only be as good as the systems that exist to regulate it. I don’t want people to despair of politicians. I want them to demand a revolution in the way we make the decisions that effect us all. I want them to vote for real change, not the phoney change offered by the other parties. I want them to give us a chance to show how different we are by voting Liberal Democrat at the General Election.”
For more information, visit: http://www.takebackpower.org/