Power Inquiry
Encyclopedia
Since the historically unprecedented decline in turnout in 2001 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
, many political organisations have put considerable effort into analysing the roots of voter abstention and the current state of political engagement in the UK. This widely shared concern over declining electoral turnout served as the starting point for a broader investigation into the health of the connections between the public and the political process.
On 27 February 2006, the Power Commission published Power to the People, its final report, making 30 key recommendations designed to "save British democracy from meltdown".
The recommendations included decentralising
Decentralization
__FORCETOC__Decentralization or decentralisation is the process of dispersing decision-making governance closer to the people and/or citizens. It includes the dispersal of administration or governance in sectors or areas like engineering, management science, political science, political economy,...
power, from central government
Central government
A central government also known as a national government, union government and in federal states, the federal government, is the government at the level of the nation-state. The structure of central governments varies from institution to institution...
to local government
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
, replacing the first-past-the-post
First-past-the-post
First-past-the-post voting refers to an election won by the candidate with the most votes. The winning potato candidate does not necessarily receive an absolute majority of all votes cast.-Overview:...
electoral system with a more responsive one, reducing the voting age to 16
Votes at 16
Votes at 16 is a campaign in the United Kingdom which argues in favour of the reduction of the voting age to 16 for all public elections.-Coalition:...
, and giving citizens the right to initiate
Direct democracy
Direct democracy is a form of government in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives. Direct democracy is classically termed "pure democracy"...
legislative processes
Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
.
"Power 2010
Power 2010
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...
" is an attempt to carry forward the concepts behind the Power Inquiry into the UK 2010 General Election.
Funding and organisation
The Inquiry was promoted as politically neutral, and its steering group, the Commission, included the "great and good" from across the political spectrum. The composition of the Commission also sought to represent directly those not conventionally involved in a project of this type.The Commissioners
- Helena Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of the ShawsHelena Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The ShawsHelena 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...
, QC - Chair - Ferdinand MountFerdinand MountSir William Robert Ferdinand Mount, 3rd Baronet , usually known as Ferdinand Mount, is a British writer and novelist, columnist for The Sunday Times and commentator on politics, and Conservative Party politician...
- Emma BEmma BEmma Boughton , grew up in Canada and as a teenager in Birmingham, England.Better known as Emma B, she is a radio presenter in the UK. She became known as Emma B when she worked for Creation Records...
- Paul Boakye
- Phil Carey (UK)
- Philip DoddPhilip DoddPhilip Dodd is a British broadcaster, writer and editor. He is chairman of the creative industries company Made in China.-Early career:...
- Ben FreemanBen FreemanBenedict "Ben" Freeman is an English television actor, best known for his part in ITV's Emmerdale as Scott Windsor.-Personal life:...
- Barbara Gill
- Bano Murtuja
- Frances O'Grady
POWER was funded and was established by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust is a philanthropic left-of-centre trust that chiefly supports work undertaken in the UK, Ireland and South Africa...
and the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust Limited, to mark their centenary year.
Key recommendations
- Donations on political partiesPolitical PartiesPolitical Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy is a book by sociologist Robert Michels, published in 1911 , and first introducing the concept of iron law of oligarchy...
to be capped at £10,000 from individuals and £100 per member of organisations, "subject to full democratic scrutiny within the organisation" - A "voter vouchers" system, where individuals indicate if they wish to allocate £3 of state funding to a particular party
- Voters given the chance to put forward laws
- The voting ageVoting ageA voting age is a minimum age established by law that a person must attain to be eligible to vote in a public election.The vast majority of countries in the world have established a voting age. Most governments consider that those of any age lower than the chosen threshold lack the necessary...
, and the minimum age at which people can stand for Parliament, to be reduced to 16 - A 70%-elected House of LordsHouse of LordsThe 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....
- Monthly logs to monitor ministerial contact with companies, lobbyists and Advocacy groups
- Restrictions on the powers of party whipsChief WhipThe Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires.-The Whips Office:...
- The replacement of First-Past-The-Post with a "responsive electoral system - which offers voters a greater choice and diversity of parties and candidates" for all elections to the House of Commons, House of Lords and local councils.
- "The closed party list system should have no place in modern elections."
- The election deposits system (currently £500) should be dropped in favour of requiring candidates to provide a certain number of signatures in order to stand in elections.
- "The realignment of constituency boundaries should be accelerated."
- DecentralizingDecentralization__FORCETOC__Decentralization or decentralisation is the process of dispersing decision-making governance closer to the people and/or citizens. It includes the dispersal of administration or governance in sectors or areas like engineering, management science, political science, political economy,...
of powers to local government
Reaction
The IndependentThe Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
newspaper covered the story with a front page splash titled Blueprint to give power to the people. The paper has been "campaigning for democracy" ever since the 2005 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, in which the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
won 55.2% of the seats with just 35.3% of the votes. The newspaper ran a petition urging the Prime Minister
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
to institute urgent reform of the voting system.
Helena Kennedy, Chair of the Inquiry, challenged politicians to, "rise above their party ranks and start treating democratic reform as a non-partisan necessity, not a political toy".
The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman said that the report dealt with many issues, which were all matters to be debated within parties and between parties, adding that the report had added to the debate.
Oliver Heald
Oliver Heald
Oliver Heald is a British barrister and Conservative politician, and the Member of Parliament for North East Hertfordshire.-Background:...
, Shadow Constitutional Affairs secretary for the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, welcomed the call to give more power to MPs, but opposed the plan to drop the voting age to 16. The Acting President of 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...
, Simon Hughes
Simon Hughes
Simon Henry Ward Hughes is a British politician and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He is Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark. Until 2008 he was President of the Liberal Democrats...
, welcomed the report, saying "British democracy is in crisis whatever the Government pretends - most voters are ignored and most people feel they have no influence".
Conference
On 6 May 2006, the Inquiry concluded with a free conference held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference CentreQueen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre is a conference centre in the City of Westminster, London. It is located in the heart of the city, a minute's walk from the Palace of Westminster, seat of the United Kingdom's Parliament...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Speakers included Power Commissioners, the Leader of the Conservative party David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
and the Leader of the Liberal Democrats Sir Menzies Campbell. The plenary sitting split into eight 'breakout' sessions where particular aspects of the Commission's recommendations were discussed. These sessions, and the organisations sponsoring them, were:
- Politics, Citizenship & Young People (Carnegie Young People Initiative)
- Direct Democracy: Ideas for Citizen Power (Charter 88)
- Reviving Political Parties for Democracy (DemosDemos (UK think tank)- History :Demos was founded in 1993 by former Marxism Today editor Martin Jacques, and Geoff Mulgan, who became its first director. It was formed in response to what Mulgan, Jacques and others saw as a crisis in politics in Britain, with voter engagement in decline and political institutions...
) - Parliament: Fit for (What) Purpose? (Hansard SocietyHansard SocietyThe Hansard Society was formed in 1944 to promote parliamentary democracy. Founded and chaired by Commander Stephen King-Hall, the first subscribers were Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee...
) - Citizens and the State: A Marriage of Inconvenience? (Involve)
- The Future of Local and Neighbourhood Government (Local Government Information UnitLocal Government Information UnitThe Local Government Information Unit is a London based thinktank and registered charity. Established in 1983 as a membership organisation for UK local authorities, the LGiU provides policy services and seeks to influence national policy, particularly in relation to local government and local...
) - Clean Politics: Fair Votes (New Politics NetworkNew Politics NetworkThe New Politics Network was an independent political and campaigning think tank in the United Kingdom, concerned with democratic renewal and popular participation in politics...
) - Global Power - Is Parliament Relevant? (One World TrustOne World TrustThe One World Trust promotes education and research into changes required in global governance to achieve the eradication of poverty, injustice, environmental degradation and war. It develops recommendations on practical ways to make powerful organisations more accountable to the people they affect...
)
The conference finished with a Question Time
Question Time (TV series)
Question Time is a topical debate BBC television programme in the United Kingdom, based on Any Questions?. The show typically features politicians from at least the three major political parties as well as other public figures who answer questions put to them by the audience...
debate on Prospects for Democratic Change, chaired by Helena Kennedy with the following panellists:
- Nicholas BolesNicholas BolesNicholas Edward Coleridge "Nick" Boles is a British Conservative Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for the Grantham and Stamford constituency in Lincolnshire...
(Director, the Policy ExchangePolicy ExchangePolicy Exchange is a British conservative think tank based in London. The Daily Telegraph has described it as "the largest, but also the most influential think tank on the right"...
) - Saira KhanSaira KhanSaira Khan is a British television personality and was the runner-up on the first UK series of reality TV show The Apprentice in 2005.-Television career:...
(Businesswoman, TV presenter, author, runner-up on the first series of The Apprentice) - Ed MilibandEd MilibandEdward Samuel Miliband is a British Labour Party politician, currently the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition...
(Labour MP, former advisor to Gordon BrownGordon BrownJames Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
and newly appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet OfficeCabinet OfficeThe Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
) - Peter TatchellPeter TatchellPeter Gary Tatchell is an Australian-born British political campaigner best known for his work with LGBT social movements...
(Human rightsHuman rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
campaigner)
During the conference, David Cameron gave his support to a majority-elected House of Lords
Elect the Lords
Elect The Lords is a campaign established in September 2004 by the New Politics Network and Charter88 calling for the United Kingdom House of Lords to be replaced by a predominantly elected upper house...
for the first time, saying, "In my view the Lords must have a significant elected element if it is to play a full and proper role". http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/05/07/nlords07.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/05/07/ixhome.html He also made strong comments on the future of the Royal Prerogative
Royal Prerogative
The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege, and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy as belonging to the sovereign alone. It is the means by which some of the executive powers of government, possessed by and...
, "It's time to look at the power of the Executive to ride roughshod over the Legislature". http://politics.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,,1769415,00.html
Many questions were asked of all the speakers by those attending the conference, and a lively debate took place over issues such as proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
for general elections and direct democracy
Direct democracy
Direct democracy is a form of government in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives. Direct democracy is classically termed "pure democracy"...
initiatives such as referendums
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
.
Power 2010
"Power 2010Power 2010
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...
" is an attempt to carry forward the concepts behind the Power Inquiry into the UK 2010 General Election.
Five key constitutional reforms have been identified in a nationwide poll - introduce proportional representation, abolish ID cards, replace the Lords with an elected chamber, allow only English MPs to vote on English laws, and draw up a written constitution.
Power 2010 is attempting to get voters and candidates in the UK 2010 General Election to endorse these reforms by signing a personal pledge.