Unlocking Democracy

Working at the Unlock Magna Carta event this evening. The event is part of the 800-year commemoration of Magna Carta - looking back at the history and forward to democratic renewal and constitutional change. This is Professor Charlie Jeffery - one of the speakers. You may recognise him from the election night TV coverage. Lots of interesting discussion going on as I clicked away with my camera, some of which I picked up on. One interesting point from the floor about the role of money in the election and the anger amongst the charity sector in the way the lobbying bill was used to prevent their input into the campaign, while big business and major newspapers were allowed to peddle their own very partial point of view more or less unchallenged. The Charity Commission is now seen as very political beneath its veneer of keeping politics out of charities so that some charities were so scared of losing their status that they didn't even organise election hustings (to which all candidates would be invited) for fear of being deemed 'political'. The stealthy manipulation of our national politics makes the surprise not that the Tories won, but that the margin was not more overwhelming. Perhaps because they gave up on trying to persuade a politically-engaged Scotland where their tactics of fear, half-truths and lies have lost traction with a significant proportion of the electorate. Will this be seen as 'lefty whinging'? Some of the right-wing press have been breath-taking in their hypocrisy on that subject. Before the election the prospect of democratically elected MPs from Scotland having any kind of say in the running of the UK was seen as some sort of a coup and now, any sort of protest expressing dismay at the result is seen as undemocratic whinging. Not to mention using the police to help create the headlines they want to see - wading into protestors passing Downing Street because the march was passing by too peacefully. The ENP, aka the Conservatives, have made their intentions all to clear since last week's victory. Democracy doesn't need unlocking, it needs defending.