Unlock Democracy

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Unlock Democracy
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
Director
Tom Brake
Websiteunlockdemocracy.org.uk

Unlock Democracy is a British

pressure group, based in London.[1] The organisation campaigns for a more participatory democracy in Britain, founded upon a written constitution.[2] Unlock Democracy works to promote democratic reform across the political spectrum and is not aligned with any political party.[3][4] The organisation's activities include producing a range of publications, lobbying politicians and political parties and working on projects to promote greater public involvement in politics, at both local and national levels.[5]

Unlock Democracy is led by a governing council, elected by all members biannually. The council in turn elects its own chair and a management board which oversees the day to day running of the organisation. It is funded from three main sources: grant income for specific projects from various foundations and trusts, subscriptions and donations from its members and supporters, and income from its subsidiary company Rodell Properties Ltd.[6]

The founding director was Peter Facey, who was director of Unlock Democracy's predecessor organisation the New Politics Network in 2001 and later becoming director of Charter 88.[7] He was responsible for the merger of the two organisations in 2007.[8][9] Being succeeded as director in 2013 by long-time Deputy Director Alexandra Runswick, who led the organisation until early 2020.

In October 2020, Former

Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake was appointed as the new director of Unlock Democracy.[10]

History

A demonstrator holding an Unlock Democracy sign in 2010 (photo by Siân Berry)

In 2003, 15 years after the formation of

Elect the Lords campaign. The two organisations decided to formalise their working relationship in 2006, and Unlock Democracy was founded in 2007.[9]

Members of Charter 88 (a pressure group advocating a charter of connected constitutional changes, including a written constitution, electoral reform, freedom of information, etc.) and NPN (the organisation established after the winding up of the think tank

strapline
, however, "connecting people and politics", was retained.

The merger was completed in November 2007.[11]

Campaign goals

Unlock Democracy arguing for a "vibrant, inclusive democracy that puts power in the hands of the people".

written constitution
. It is suggested that this constitution should explicitly enshrine;

In addition to this, Unlock Democracy also campaigns;

  • For fair and open elections
  • For transparency in public decision making
  • To ensure that power is exercised as closely to people as is practicable
  • To empower individuals and their communities to have a greater say in over the decision that affect them
  • For democratic accountability for all elected officials, government and public bodies
  • For universal human rights for all[12]

The Unlock Democracy constitution contains the charter (a set of aims set out by predecessor organisation Charter 88) as an appendix.

Campaign activities

Unlock Democracy attends party conferences and runs external events such as People and Politics Day. It continues to work with and support other organisations such as

Elect the Lords campaign, and the campaign for a review of the UK general election
electoral system.

The

May 2021 elections was not allowed, but the commercial delivery of leaflets was. This was disadvantageous to the UK's smaller political parties, which rely more heavily on volunteers. Following a campaign by Big Brother Watch
, Unlock Democracy and other campaign organisations, the UK government relented and allowed campaigning to take place from 8 March 2021.

In April 2021, ahead of the May 2021 Local elections. Unlock Democracy launched its Community Democracy campaign "Turning the Tide". As a part of this campaign, Unlock Democracy commissioned a report by De Montfort University on the state of local government in England over the past 40 years. The report, "Local Government in England – Forty Years of Decline", outlines how the autonomy, financial independence and democratic legitimacy of local government have all been weakened. It concludes that local government has been "hollowed out", that "Local Democracy is at breaking point", and that "urgent action is needed to restore it".[14][15]

Funding

Unlock Democracy has been given an A grade for funding transparency by Who Funds You?[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Contact". Unlock Democracy. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  2. ^ "What We Want". Unlock Democracy. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Ekklesia | Unlock Democracy launches vote match tool for Labour leadership contest". www.ekklesia.co.uk. 31 August 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  4. ^ "UD Evidence to APPG for Reform, Decentralisation and Devolution" (PDF).
  5. ^ "Unlock Democracy: what we do". politics.co.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  6. ^ "FAQ". Unlock Democracy. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Author Page". openDemocracy. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  8. ^ Macmillen, Sandy. "Library Services: Politics: United Kingdom". library.essex.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Unlocking democracy has never been so vital". openDemocracy. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Tom Brake, Former MP, Appointed As Director Of Unlock Democracy". openDemocracy. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  11. ^ Unlock Democracy Website - History http://www.unlockdemocracy.org.uk/pages/a-short-history
  12. ^ a b "Purpose and Constitution". Unlock Democracy. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  13. ^ Unlock Democracy Website - Purpose http://www.unlockdemocracy.org.uk/pages/purpose-and-constitution
  14. ^ Knott, Jonathan (16 April 2021). "Local democracy 'at breaking point', says study". Local Government Chronicle (LGC). Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  15. ^ "Expert researchers back campaign to bring back power to local government". www.dmu.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  16. ^ "Unlock Democracy | Who Funds You?". whofundsyou.org. Retrieved 7 July 2019.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Unlock_Democracy&oldid=1177402242"