Last week’s seminar at the Frontline Club asked a very pertinent question of the Occupy London movement pitched outside St. Paul’s. What do you want? I was surprised to see from the show of journalistic hands that the majority in the room did not know exactly what the protesters are camped out for, though, given [...]
With recent news of the U.S. deploying predator drones in Libya to “degrade Gaddafi’s forces”, and Europe’s involvement teetering on the brink of all out invasion, we have to think carefully about what kind of message this sends out to the various protest movements which are on-going in the region. This is important not only [...]
On the same day that David Cameron and arch-Blairite former Home Secretary, John Reid, shared a platform to denounce AV, the Evening Standard came out against voting reform, patronising the electorate by basing its flimsy argument on the crazy notion that AV is so much harder to understand. I wonder what’s so hard to understand [...]
We all know that the Alternative Vote isn’t the panacea. It’s not going to cure all the ills of our democracy. Only true proportional representation can do that. But since it’s the best we have on offer, it deserves fair consideration on its own merits. I support AV because I believe that in a democracy, [...]
This has been a goodish week for liberal America. A judge has halted the enforcement of the ”Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” laws, under which thousands of soldiers have been discharged after the military discovered they were gay. I have always been a little queasy about fighting for people to have the right to join one [...]
Much has already been made about Ed Miliband’s victory depending on the unions, and no doubt there’ll be more of the same to come over the next few weeks. Even before the votes were in the Guardian was calling the voting system an undemocratic ‘relic’ crying out for reform and comparing poorly with those used [...]
The ever-readable Left Outside has written a response to my post from the other week on Prop 8. It’s well worth a look, but (surprise, surprise) I’m afraid I have some issues with it. His argument, as I read it, is twofold: First, in order for there to be democracy in a society, there must [...]
Democracy in Britain leaves a lot to be desired – like actual democracy, for example. Governments secure unconscionable power with 33% of the popular vote; parties run multi-million pound election campaigns, ensuring they owe some millionaire or business, something, sometime; the anachronism of the constituency MP is still firmly in place and not going anywhere [...]
This week’s overturning of Proposition 8 in California is obviously welcome news. Amending California’s state constitution to state that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California” is nakedly discriminatory and Judge Vaughn Walker’s decision to strike it down should be applauded. There is, though, something else that’s important [...]
Well, it happened. Not quite as anyone had been expecting, but it happened. The moment we’ve dreaded for the last three years. David Cameron is the new Prime Minister. I can’t say I will be sorry to see Brown go. I can’t say New Labour didn’t deserve to lose this election. I can say I [...]
