Power 2010
Encyclopedia
Power 2010 was a campaign to reform the British
Parliament
.
The campaign first aimed to identify five key reforms to the parliamentary system that the public most wanted to see enacted. The aim was then to ensure that every candidate standing in the UK 2010 General Election backs those reforms.
examined the problem of democratic disengagement in the United Kingdom
. A report was produced which highlighted the "Myth of Apathy" and the lack of political engagement, but very little action resulted from the report. Helena Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws
, a frequently-rebellious Labour peer, who chaired the Power Commission, also chairs Power 2010, which aims to carry forward the concepts behind the Power Commission
into the UK 2010 General Election.
The campaign is funded by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust (previously the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust) and has been endorsed by activists such as Billy Bragg
and Mark Thomas
.
The call for ideas went out on September 15 and by midnight on November 30, 2009 over 4,000 had been submitted.
On the weekend of 9-10 January 2010, a scientific sample of 130 citizens from across the UK, selected by YouGov to be representative of the population as a whole gathered in London for a two-day deliberative event. These 130 citizens participated in a Deliberative Poll organised in consultation with Professor James Fishkin of Stanford University and his colleagues at the Center for Deliberative Democracy at Stanford University
, Professor Robert C. Luskin and Dr. Alice Siu.
In this way, these 130 citizens distilled the many ideas received into a manageable shortlist of 29 proposals, each of which received the backing of a majority of participants. These were then put to the public vote.
The public have been asked to sign the power pledge if they agree with three or more of the five power pledges, with the option to opt out of a particular pledge that they may not agree with.
1. Introduce a proportional voting system.
2. Scrap ID cards and roll back the database state.
3. Replace the House of Lords
with an elected chamber.
4. Allow only English MPs to vote on English laws.
5. Draw up a written constitution
.
In March 2010, Power 2010 ran a full page ad in the Guardian
targeting 6 MPs that it claimed were "failing our democracy" for being most against parliamentary reform. Some of the MPs in question have responded by questioning the motives of Power 2010 and claiming that it is a front for the Liberal Democrats
.
The 6 MPs were:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
.
The campaign first aimed to identify five key reforms to the parliamentary system that the public most wanted to see enacted. The aim was then to ensure that every candidate standing in the UK 2010 General Election backs those reforms.
Roots
Between November 2005 and March 2006 the Power CommissionPower Inquiry
The POWER Inquiry was established in 2004 to explore how political participation and involvement can be increased and deepened in Britain. Its work is based on the primary belief that a healthy democracy requires the active participation of its citizens....
examined the problem of democratic disengagement in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. A report was produced which highlighted the "Myth of Apathy" and the lack of political engagement, but very little action resulted from the report. Helena Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws
Helena Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws
Helena Ann Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws QC, FRSA, is a British barrister, broadcaster, and Labour member of the House of Lords. She is a former chair of the Human Genetics Commission, which advises the UK government on ethical, social, and legal issues arising from developments in...
, a frequently-rebellious Labour peer, who chaired the Power Commission, also chairs Power 2010, which aims to carry forward the concepts behind the Power Commission
Power Inquiry
The POWER Inquiry was established in 2004 to explore how political participation and involvement can be increased and deepened in Britain. Its work is based on the primary belief that a healthy democracy requires the active participation of its citizens....
into the UK 2010 General Election.
The campaign is funded by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust (previously the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust) and has been endorsed by activists such as Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
and Mark Thomas
Mark Thomas
Mark Clifford Thomas is a left-wing English comedian, presenter, political activist and reporter from south London. He first became known as a guest comic on the BBC Radio 1 comedy show The Mary Whitehouse Experience in the late 1980s. He is best known for political stunts on his show, The Mark...
.
Phase one
The first phase of the campaign (which has now closed) asked for suggestions from the public. The campaign received thousands of ideas from people of all political persuasions from across the UK.The call for ideas went out on September 15 and by midnight on November 30, 2009 over 4,000 had been submitted.
Phase two
The thousands of ideas were organised by academics from Southampton University and fed into a deliberative poll to draw up a shortlist which would be put to the public vote.On the weekend of 9-10 January 2010, a scientific sample of 130 citizens from across the UK, selected by YouGov to be representative of the population as a whole gathered in London for a two-day deliberative event. These 130 citizens participated in a Deliberative Poll organised in consultation with Professor James Fishkin of Stanford University and his colleagues at the Center for Deliberative Democracy at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, Professor Robert C. Luskin and Dr. Alice Siu.
In this way, these 130 citizens distilled the many ideas received into a manageable shortlist of 29 proposals, each of which received the backing of a majority of participants. These were then put to the public vote.
Phase three
The public vote on the 29 ideas shortlisted by the Deliberative Poll began January 18 and lasted five weeks until 22 February. During this time 100,000 votes were cast by tens of thousands of people. The five most popular ideas following the vote produced the POWER2010 Pledge.Pledge Signing Campaign
Following the 22nd of February Power2010 have begun a grass roots campaign requesting members of the public to sign a petition to back to power pledge. Currently there is no published total for the number of signatures collected as of March 2010.The public have been asked to sign the power pledge if they agree with three or more of the five power pledges, with the option to opt out of a particular pledge that they may not agree with.
The Power Pledges
The five power pledges adopted by Power 2010 following the public vote were:1. Introduce a proportional voting system.
2. Scrap ID cards and roll back the database state.
3. Replace the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
with an elected chamber.
4. Allow only English MPs to vote on English laws.
5. Draw up a written constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
.
2010 General Election campaign
The aim was for as many people as possible to sign the Pledge and then take it to the candidates in their constituency, by writing to them, calling them, and attending local hustings, public meetings and MPs' surgeries. Ideally, every candidate standing in the UK 2010 General Election should make a public commitment to clean up and reform British politics.In March 2010, Power 2010 ran a full page ad in the Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
targeting 6 MPs that it claimed were "failing our democracy" for being most against parliamentary reform. Some of the MPs in question have responded by questioning the motives of Power 2010 and claiming that it is a front for the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
.
The 6 MPs were:
- ShipleyShipley (UK Parliament constituency)-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-Elections in the 1980s:-Elections in the 1970s:-Elections in the 1910s:...
Conservative MP Philip DaviesPhilip DaviesPhilip Andrew Davies is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Shipley in West Yorkshire.-Early life:...
, who was re-elected with an increased majority. - Harrow East Labour MP Tony McNultyTony McNultyAnthony "Tony" James McNulty is a former British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Harrow East from 1997 to 2010 and was a government minister from 2002 to 2009. He was Minister for London and Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform at the Department for...
, who lost his seat to Bob Blackman of the Conservatives. - Glasgow SouthGlasgow South (UK Parliament constituency)Glasgow South is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
Labour MP Tom Harris, who was re-elected with an increased majority. - ShrewsburyShrewsbury (UK Parliament constituency)Shrewsbury was a parliamentary constituency in England, centred on the town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire.It was founded in 1290 as parliamentary borough, returning two members to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and of the...
Conservative MP Daniel KawczynskiDaniel KawczynskiDaniel Robert Kawczynski is the Conservative Party Member for Parliament for Shrewsbury and Atcham in Shropshire, England.-Biography:...
, who was re-elected with an increased majority. - Cardiff South and Penarth Labour MP Alun MichaelAlun MichaelAlun Edward Michael is a British Labour Co-operative politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Cardiff South and Penarth since 1987. He was formerly First Minister of Wales and leader of the Welsh Labour Party from 1999 to 2000.-Education:Michael was born at Bryngwran Anglesey, son of...
, who was re-elected with a reduced majority - WellsWells (UK Parliament constituency)Wells is a county constituency centred on the city of Wells in Somerset. It elects one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, by the first past the post voting system...
Conservative MP David Heathcoat-AmoryDavid Heathcoat-AmoryDavid Philip Heathcoat-Amory is a British politician, accountant and farmer. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Wells from 1983 until he lost his seat in the 2010 general election.-Education and professional life:...
, who lost his seat to Liberal Democrat Tessa MuntTessa MuntTessa Jane Munt is a British Liberal Democrat politician. She is the Member of Parliament for Wells in Somerset.-Political career:...
.