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Republic has been asked to become a partner of the new POWER2010 campaign. The aim of POWER2010, which is chaired by Helena Kennedy, is to identify the key reforms that will change the way we do politics in this country.
These reforms will be submitted and voted on by the public. The five most popular ideas will become the “POWER2010 Pledge”, which will be the focus of a national campaign in the run up to the general election next year.
There are a number of actions you can take to support the POWER2010 campaign and ensure the republican voice is represented:
- Sign this letter to the three main party leaders, telling them that it’s now time for the people to be given a genuine say in how our democracy is run.
- Leave supportive comments on this “idea of the day”, submitted by a Republic member, which proposes a written republican constitution.
- Submit your own idea to POWER2010. It doesn’t matter if it’s already been suggested – the more people that propose an elected head of state and republican constitution, the greater our chances of it forming a part of the POWER2010 pledge.
Tags: helena kennedy, power2010
November 6th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Nice site, i will make some proposals there later.
November 6th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Just for the record there is a person on there called Simon.. that is not me.
November 6th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Delighted to hear that POWER2010 is serious. Of course we need an elected leader and a sensible constitution to fashion our affairs.
We also need a second parliamentary chamber with members who can properly revise proposed legislation because they have experience of the areas that will be affected by that legislation.
We have many chartered bodies that are concerned with our various professions. Their representatives are the people to carry out these duties, not has-been politicians who use the chamber as an old pals’ club.
November 6th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
So when do we get to vote on these then? How does it work?
You are right John, we should elect people to all positions that have an influence on how the country is run, including the upper house and head of state.
November 6th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Will reform of the electoral system be included? It’s blindingly obvious that the current system with it’s pre-disposition to preserve many MPs in ’safe’ seats, has failed us.
However would Proportional Representation be better?
At least with PR I would feel my vote counted, whereas, at the moment, only those who live in ‘marginal’ seats have any real say who who is their MP.
Why is having more representation of various points of view in Parliament put forward against us having PR?
Surely the point of a Democracy is to allow us to have our say and not just have to go along with what is considered by those in Parliament as the ‘correct’ point of view?
Would NOT having a 2 (or possibly 3) party system mean an inability to govern? It seems plenty of other countries run just as effectively with their parliaments having more of a ‘people’s voice’.
If people support the Communists, Greens, BNP etc why shouldn’t the people’s Parliament reflect that? Isn’t that the whole point?
Do we really only want the ‘establishment’ to continue to be in charge as we come to the end of the first decade of the 21st century?
November 6th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Roger Hurst – “Do we really only want the ‘establishment’ to continue to be in charge as we come to the end of the first decade of the 21st century?”
It’s an emphatic no from me then. The people should be in charge and delegate power to the politicians. We should have a written constitution that an elected head of state would be delegated by us to safeguard, and he/she would do that by using, if necessary, some important reserve powers that, once again, the people would delegate to him/her.
November 9th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Hasn’t this blog got a spam filter? An awful lot of ‘comments’ have been from spammers.
November 9th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
@Ian
Yes, the blog has a spam filter but occasionally some still gets through. I’ve deleted the one spam comment from this post – are there any more?
November 10th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Be very wary of Power 2010. I submitted a policy option some weeks ago, then commented on the ‘policy’ of the day, week or whatever it was, simply flagging up my opposition to posters supporting the idea of an English Parliament. The following day my in-box was full of later posters’ additions, including examples of the most violent racism.
Should we really be associating with this group?
November 10th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Hi Stephen
You can’t really judge a group by the posts left on their blog, that would be like judging Republic by the comments of Simon and Neill!
We’ve met with Power2010 and know some of those involved. The comments you mention don’t reflect their views or ideology. If you have concerns about the content of any comments left on their blog I suggest you email them and make a complaint.
Cheers