February 2010 News

Political legitimacy and membership

There's a good suggestion made on the Power 2010 campaign. It argues that:

No political Party should be registered with the Electoral Commission unless it has a democratic constitution which can be changed by a majority of its members on the basis of one member one vote.

This suggests an interesting idea - that part of the blame for the undemocratic nature of parliament and people's feelings of a lack of accountability stems from the fact that the membership of these parties themselves is...

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Private actions, public consequences

What One Alfred Place can teach us about how to treat your membership in the age of social media.

The private members club One Alfred Place is a very nice institution. I’ve had delicious lunches, relaxed teas and friendly drinks there, and admired the congenial, professional atmosphere and the people I’ve met.

But there’s trouble in paradise: the new Chief Executive, Sharon Brittan, has been forced to publicly apologise after emailing members to tell them their memberships have not been...

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It's all about equality...

Equality seems to be hot on everyone’s lips at the moment.  With a general election in the not too distance future, and a new Equalities bill on the brink of publication, the major parties are all trying to show to Britain how they would tackle equalities issues, and how they are the people to take this issue forward.  A new series of pamphlets by Demos tackles this very issue, illustrating policy plans for each of the parties on equality issues in Britain.  An interesting insight into each...

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