UK Democracy is dead, here’s how we fix it…

If you look back at the political history of the UK, going back to 1800, we’ve usually had a Conservative government. If you want to be a politician in the UK, the safest bet (values aside) is to join the Conservative Party. Originally they were contested mainly by the Whigs, then the Liberals, then Labour. The only times Labour have managed to break the mould and convince voters to stray from the Conservatives is when they’ve put forward a charismatic leader with big, bold ideas for policy which appeal to the masses. Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson and Tony Blair did it, but could they do it again?

I don’t say this jokingly, some have suggested bringing Blair back could save the Labour party, but personally I don’t think it can. Currently Labour is divided. The Corbynite, left-wing of the party is constantly attacking the centre and arguing the case to pull to the left, but in truth the British public does not seem ready to adopt socialist ideas. Maybe we subconsciously still adhere to the class system and accept the elites ruling over us?

So Labour should unite and attack the centre again?

Some people might argue that, but personally I don’t think that will work either. Currently the Tories have a grip on power, which seems unshakable. No amount of incompetence or corruption seems to turn the electorate off them. I believe Brexit has a hand in this. Like it or not Brexit allowed the Tories to crush UKIP by mopping up the racist and the nationalist vote, thus securing the right-wing vote as well as traditional Conservative voters and some centrists. Now there’s talk of polling stations requiring Photo ID to vote. This is targeted at younger, poorer voters — less likely to have a driving license or passport. It’s essentially gerrymandering on a grand scale, trying to control who can vote and ensure those likeliest to make it to the polling station are those who support the Tory party. This isn’t just moving boundaries or merging constituencies, this is nationwide.

Even if not for this insidious tactic, the Conservatives are trying to manoeuvre electoral law into their favour. Another scheme sees them planning to reform mayoral elections to make them ‘First Past the Post’ which will favour the Conservatives massively.

The problem is this. The UK has a lot of progressive parties arguing for change and for a more socially just society. That is a major hinderance to UK progressive parties. We’d be much better off with ONE progressive party in our antiquated, ‘no longer fit for purpose’ electoral system. Currently, if you wanted to unseat a Tory, your best tactic would not be to form a progressive party and stand in the election. It would be to collaborate with a group of friends to all form quasi-conservative parties, some a bit more centrist some a bit more right-wing some more focused on traditional conservative values. You’d split the Conservative vote and one of the progressive candidates might have a chance.

All of this is exacerbated by Scotland. When the SNP managed to effectively take ‘Scotland’ they also took a massive chunk of Labour’s core voter territory. For Labour to secure enough seats to form a government seems like an unassailable task now. The Tories are laughing all the way to the polling booth.

Remember Flash Gordon? Remember Ming the Merciless? Well, Boris the Buffoon has exactly the same smarts: ‘Separate and Destroy’ or ‘Divide and Conquer’. The progressives have NO chance of winning a General Election now unless they unite and work together.

You might think this is unworkable as the policies and ideals of the progressive parties are so different and varied. However, I don’t think they are as varied as you might think.

Here’s what I propose as a solution and a last ditched attempt to save democracy in the UK, before we end up in a Singaporean situation where the same party is in power perpetually.

First, we get the leaders of Labour, the Liberal Democrats, The Green Party, The Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru together. We get them to agree to form ‘The Progressive Alliance of Labour, the Liberal Democrats, The Green Party, The Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru’

At the next general election they stand ONE candidate in each constituency. So people have a simple choice. ‘Tory’ or ‘Progressive’.

I believe the Progressive Alliance would crush the Conservatives and leave them with a fraction of their current MPs.

At this point, the first legislative issue would be a massive overhaul of the electoral system to one which has some sort of proportional representation and which means EVERY vote counts. It should be a system which completely disincentives people to vote tactically. Where the proportion of the popular vote dictates the proportion of MPs a party has.

After this legislation has passed and is set in law — then the Progressive Alliance can either work together to the end of the term of government, or they could call another General Election, disbanding into the parties they were before. For once in the history of the UK people could vote for what they believe in, knowing their vote will count and getting them more engaged in politics.

If people think their vote will count, it gets them engaged. Brexit proved that. People felt very strongly about the Brexit debate and that got people out to vote. At the moment, in many constituencies, ‘couldn’t be bothered to vote’ should actually win the seat and that’s wrong.

To be fair the Conservatives are a broad church, it’s hard to see the likes of Boris and Priti as being in the same party as John Major and Ken Clarke. Even if you’re a Conservative voter, you should support this idea. You might like Bodies piled up Boris and his comic antics… But what if you don’t like the next Conservative leader? What if it’s someone you hate? And you fear them running the country? If they are allowed to continue manoeuvring their way into ensuring they ALWAYS win General Elections, then it might be tough luck — you might not have a choice.

Martyn Stanley