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  • September 24, 2012
    Manners and the Minister: the insolence of power

    It may appear graceless to ask the question, but how likely is it that Andrew Mitchell would have managed even the evasive partial apology heard today if he had thought he could get away with his arrogant loutishness towards officers of the Diplomatic Protection Group and retain his job?

  • June 30, 2012
    New research exposes true price of House of Lords patronage

    Unlock Democracy has published research which reveals that dozens of members of the House of Lords claimed many thousands of pounds tax free in 2011.

  • June 29, 2012
    Rowan Williams is wrong: we need an elected second chamber

    The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, argued in his recent Magna Carta lecture against the idea of a fully elected second chamber at Westminster. As the debate about Lords reform continues, political theologian Graeme Smith seeks to show why the Archbishop is wrong to put his faith in an oligarchic form of democracy rather than one based on full electoral accountability.

  • May 17, 2012
    The dangerous hollowing out of local democracy

    In the wake of the 2012 local elections and other recent developments, we can see that local democracy in England is in a perilous state. Voter apathy shows that. Simon Barrow looks at the issue in its wider context, and suggests that deep change is required that goes well beyond single-fix 'solutions'.

  • March 18, 2012
    Why I would like to help choose the next Archbishop of Canterbury

    The next Archbishop will be chosen by the great and the good, sprinkled with some local diocesan worthies, observes Graeme Smith. They will weigh up the diverse and competing needs of the Church of England, the Anglican Communion, the British State, and the diocese of Canterbury. They will receive submissions, take soundings and consult widely before reaching their considered opinion. But is not a less oligarchical and hierarchical way forward possible?

  • February 2, 2012
    Welfare politics: A 'morally disabled' government

    Disabled actor, writer and comedian Francesca Martinez, who has been outspoken in support of those challenging the impact on vulnerable people of the Welfare Reform Bill (WRB), put the matter powerfully and poignantly on the This Week TV politics show: the government, she said, is "morally disabled" in its approach to these issues and to the human effect of its policies.

  • December 12, 2011
    Euro summit deal denounced as economically unsustainable

    The Green Party has dismissed Euro-zone crisis proposals as short-sighted, economically unsustainable and an attack on European democracy.

  • September 9, 2011
    Government urged to attend to English democratic need in tackling West Lothian question

    A leading UK campaign for democracy, rights and freedoms has welcomed the launch of a government commission to investigate the West Lothian Question.

  • April 29, 2011
    Facebook under fire after removal of UK 'political' accounts

    Facebook is facing massive pressure from campaigners, civil liberties activists and journalists tonight after suspending a series of UK 'political' accounts.

  • April 29, 2011
    Crown or parliament? Time for reflection

    “Are you for King or for Parliament?” I was taught at a tender age to ask the burning question of mid 17th century England as a means of assessing an individual's take on society. It seems apposite once again.