Share tweetmeme_source = 'tweetmeme';...
View 'Adonis: There will be firm proposals in our manifesto for an elected House of Lords' >

By Ian Robathan As I posted in a previous article on the Walsall South selection, I have a major concern over the control from the centre down to the local party. On Friday I went to my first ever selection meeting not knowing quite what to expect. What I experienced was actually a pleasant surprise. I had spoken to three candidates before the meeting and received a whole tree of literature so what they said on the day was of...
View 'The problems with our selection process' >

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 The Sunday Telegraph has the story that Jack Straw is to discuss with cabinet plans to include a move towards a fully elected, 300-member strong second chamber. The Telegraph says: "Under the government's proposals, members of the new chamber would be able to be subject to a US-style "recall ballot" which would disqualify them for incompetence." "The plans would see all members of the new-look assembly being directly elected – ending the system of...
View 'Labour's plans for a fully elected second chamber' >

By Pam Giddy 26 Bishops sit in the House of Lords as of right. They’ve been there since the time of Henry VIII and show very little sign of moving – a constitutional set-up that leaves us in the inglorious company of Iran, and very few others. This despite the fact that most major polls since the 1970s find the public in favour of democratising the upper chamber, a preference now expressed as a clear and unequivocal demand with a...
View 'Urge the Bishops to back House of Lords reform' >

Share tweetmeme_source = 'tweetmeme';...
View 'Cameron loses his rag in PMQs' >

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 UPDATE: Alastair Campbell has made a Vlog on the TV debates, why the hype doesn't matter and why Gordon's substance will shine through. UPDATE: Watch Cameron losing his rag in PMQs. I increasingly dislike watching PMQs on a Wednesday. The paper waving gamesmanship and jeering should have no place in a discussion as serious as Defence spending, when the country is fighting war and soldiers are dying. Really, it should have no place at all...
View 'Today's PMQs has lessons for the TV debates' >

By Matthew Rhodes Is the Lord Ashcroft affair something that “just concerns people in the Westminster village”? This is the comment made on my Facebook page by a friend of mine with very different political views – he’s a Tory – but that doesn’t make him wrong about everything. I’m not so sure this is just a Westminster obsession, as I think it and the examples of where Labour in government has fallen down over the last 13 years...
View 'Non-doms and exerting influence: it's a matter of trust' >

By Ella Rolfe International Women’s Day, following hot on the heels of the most important Iraqi election in five years, is not likely to get much attention here. But questions of women’s role in rebuilding Iraq feature high on both domestic and international agendas, and female election candidates have been touted as central to the process. In this election, even the Islamic parties have female candidates. So are they taken seriously? The answer seems to be a disappointing ‘occasionally’. All...
View 'Does Iraqi politics value women candidates?' >

By Ian Robathan A couple of weeks ago, my local labour MP, Bruce George (Walsall South), decided not to stand for election again after being the MP for 36 years. To his credit he sent all local members a 4 page letter explaining his decision and I feel it was genuine and not a resignation to allow a parachute candidate to step in. So, as I am only 38, this was the first chance I have had to take part...
View 'Is this Labour Party democracy?' >

Share tweetmeme_source = 'tweetmeme';...
View 'Ed Miliband: People see politicians shouting at each other in the Commons, but the web is a direct way we can talk with people' >

By Brian Barder / @BrianLB With the opinion polls momentarily suggesting a narrow gap between the Conservatives and Labour, the chattering classes’ newspapers and current affairs programmes on television are full of pundits agonising about the dangerous implications of a hung parliament after the impending general election — i.e. a result in which no single party has an overall majority in the House of Commons. The main anxiety arises from the uncertainties implicit in a hung parliament and a minority...
View 'The perils of a hung parliament - and PR' >

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 UPDATE: Paul Waugh says there could still be debates on policy between Burnham v Lansley; Mandelson v Clarke; Balls v Gove; Miliband v Hague; Johnson v Grayling. And even Darling v Osborne. Brilliant. Well done to Sky News for seizing the opportunity and for their successful campaign on securing the first general election TV debates between leaders, details of which have now been announced. Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg will debate...
View 'The economy election on prime time' >

Share tweetmeme_source = 'tweetmeme';...
View 'Mandelson: We have a right to know how Ashcroft has manipulated our electoral system for so long' >

By Len Duvall AM The Tories are facing big problems nationally and here in London as their promises to "fix broken politics" start to look more than a little suspect. When David Cameron made a speech criticising "an elite few" buying influence, did he forget about non-domiciled Ashcroft, "the man who bought the Tory Party", according to Peter Oborne? In London, Boris Johnson seems to be doing his best to enhance his regime’s reputation as sleazy as well as incompetent....
View 'New sleaze and incompetence at the heart of Johnson's administration' >

By Alun Davies Labour supporters across Wales are celebrating St David’s Day bursting with optimism. On the back of a hugely successful Welsh Labour Conference in Swansea which took place last weekend, Labour can be proud of the way it has led the battle against the global recession. Make no mistake – there are still many challenges ahead, but the economic outlook is looking far more positive than at this time last year. This is in no small part due...
View 'Dydd Gwyl Dewi hapus i bawb!' >

By George Gabriel Imagine an open campaign. A set of proposals developed through public debate where each and any is free to contribute and have their view weighted equally. Imagine a sincerely democratic discussion, where the agenda is set and then voted on by the public. Imagine that the results of this debate then formed the basis of a campaign across the UK in the run up to the general election. What we are in fact talking about is a...
View 'Beyond consultation: imagine a civic society where citizens are the protagonists of public life' >

Share tweetmeme_source = 'tweetmeme';...
View 'Brown: Number 10 is like a family, we have issues but we work together' >

By George Gabriel It was written on LabourList some weeks ago that if the “constitutional reform bill” is to be a “democratic renewal bill” its process must come to reflect its ends. Democratic renewal cannot be achieved behind closed doors, power cannot be given, and to bring people back into politics, the political system must be prepared to have its agenda set by the people. Recent initiatives from the Labour Party towards a fairer voting system, strengthening Parliament and the...
View 'Building power, deepening democracy' >

By Jon Cruddas MP As we approach the election, we are at a watershed in the life of our Party. We have lost many millions of voters since 1997. We have lost hundreds of thousands of members. We have become reviled by younger generations who view us as the party of the establishment, of war, and of insecurity. New Labour acted as if the electorate – or at least the section of it that counted – bordered on the misanthropic...
View 'Labour needs to rediscover its capacity for collective change from the ground up' >

By Peter Kenyon This is the second part of a Save the Labour Party survey initiative to enable members to have a say in Labour Party policy making. The first part about Labour Loyalties appeared on LabourList and other web outlets in mid-January. The Labour government says it wants a 'radical' Manifesto. This survey is designed to explore how strongly members feel about current issues, bearing in mind Labour values. It should take no more than 5 minutes to complete....
View 'A radical manifesto - reflecting Labour values?' >