If certain news reports are to be believed, David Cameron might just offer Nick Clegg and the LibDems a ‘deal’ in the event of a hung parliament: they can have Proportional Representation, but just not everywhere. It might be ok for Europe and for local Councils, but of course not for Parliament. To many, this seems rather odd. The man giveth and the man taketh away.
Likewise, Gordon Brown has become a recent convert to the cause of PR – his zealotry becoming ever more impassioned the longer the Clegg surge continues. He cuddled up to the notion of PR at the height of the Parliamentary expenses scandal, too, and now he is at it again. We must all wonder why.
Both Brown and Cameron are clearly still playing politics with the citizen. Now, perhaps, it is time for the Citizen to turn the tables and to hold both men – and their Parties – to account.
This is not, then, the first time in recent memory that Brown and Cameron have flirted with Electoral Reform – nor is it the first time that this Blog has considered the (much needed) reform of the voting system as a likely consequence of the current political crisis in Britain. As the first edition of Citizen Renaissance argued, the UK desperately needs both a proportionately elected system of government and a written constitution with clearly stated citizen-centric values if it is to unlock the paralysis which – political poster jokes notwithstanding – is driving us back to the ‘80s and ‘70s and beyond. If we are to address the Perfect Storm surrounding Climate Change (sadly reduced to the role of silent killer in this Election) and find the path to an economy built on Wellbeing and not derivative madness, then the system has to change.
A more radical solution will see a three-way separation: direct elections for the Prime Minister (we could maybe just add a red-button voting device to the televised debates?); a proportionately elected House of Commons; and a directly elected Upper House, obviously free from the hereditary nonsense but making sure that everyone from teachers to farmers to nurses and firemen are properly represented.
All of this presents an uncomfortable truth for a majority of politicians from the two main parties to swallow. Too many easily confuse the constitutional rights of citizenship with – as they see it, incorrectly – the perils and potential anarchy of direct democracy. But, as Nick Clegg pointed out in a BBC interview, it is patently absurd for the party with the least number of votes but, perversely, the most number of seats, to offer up the next Prime Minister of the country. In a further twist of fate (see Blog posts passim), it is of course equally absurd to have as the key decision-maker and power-broker an un-elected Head of State, whose only ‘legitimate’ claim to authority is by way of a privileged and accidental birth. But that argument is for another day. The most compelling fact is that this could (and should) be the last election of a broken two-party model. A new, more trusting, consensus will thankfully emerge. Some (Cameron included) will portray this as a recipe for instability and indecision. Evidence from many other mature democracies will tell you this is in fact the route towards a more trusting, civilised and progressive society.
One of the many quirks of the current system is that the monarch will call upon the largest Party – and not necessarily the leader of that Party – to form the next government in the event of a hung parliament. Step forward Miliband, D or Miliband, E if Brown, G is really not wanted by the other Party players? Even Lord Mandelson or a Tory-who-may-not-be-Dave might be in the frame. In this sense, all is very much to play for – and the enlightened, if somewhat mischievous, citizen will therefore be one who openly campaigns for a hung parliament and finally breaks this corrosive and anachronistic system of election.
So what is the best Citizen’s Advice?
First, Place the need for wider political and constitutional reform and renewal above party allegiances and narrow interests. Without political reform, there is no real chance of long-term economic recovery and sustained wellbeing.
Second, vote tactically. If you believe in the restorative values of PR, then place your vote wisely to make it happen. Even if, like me, you are a Labour voter, consider how you vote in this wider context. How will your constituency fit within the wider, national piece?
Third, don’t let the politicians get away with broken promises or partial reform. Remember the Jenkins Commission post-1997 and Tony Blair’s brief flirtation with Paddy Ashdown, Proportional Representation and Lords reform prior to that? Think about Cameron’s pledges and hedges now. Political accountability must continue long after this election is over – there is a thirst for change among the British electorate, and we must all ride with it and harness its vital energy.
Fourth, don’t lose the activism and discourse that has suddenly been awoken. Britain is once again alive to political debate and therefore to potential citizen action also. General Election 2010 must be the start of a new era of open, participative democracy. We must take it from here and re-establish real priorities alongside economic recovery – focussed on the environment and wellbeing.
One of the greatest ironies of recent weeks has been the fact that the consumerisation of politics reached its apogee in the very first of the Prime Ministerial debates, as Alistair Stewart played the MC in a certain, rather odd, Krypton Factor style. But this very consumerisation re-ignited a new conversation. It gave a rightful voice to a legitimate third party. And it demonstrated that ‘change’ is not the sole domain of just one party in opposition. Above all, it allowed the citizens’ voices to be heard. The cry is for reform and renewal – and the politicians of both ‘old’ parties would be ill-advised to play fast and loose with this in a final ten days of naked, political opportunism.
It would seem – from the opinion Polls – that the centre ground has now moved forever. More critically, the power has shifted, too. And ‘they’ are no longer in control.
