Reform of Britain’s constitution and political system is long overdue. The two-party duopoly – locked in by the first past the post voting system – is harming our nation, stifling political competition and denying new entrants a chance to contribute. Meanwhile, England – the United Kingdom’s largest nation – lacks the democratic voice granted to all others. The House of Lords remains an unreformed chamber of political appointees and the nation remains fettered by outdated post-war international protocols. We will be at the forefront of reinvigorating democratic politics and national sovereignty.
POLICY PLEDGES:
- An English Parliament will be established outside London and bids to host it will be invited from cities in the Midlands and the North. The devolved parliaments of England, Wales and Scotland will have powers equivalent to, but not greater than, those of the current Scottish Parliament.
- Westminster parliamentary elections will be conducted under system of proportional representation comprising multi-member geographically based constituencies using the D’Hondt voting method.
- The Human Rights Act will be replaced by a new Bill of Rights drawing upon the British tradition of liberty, free speech and free association and incorporating established principles such as Habeas Corpus and the rule of law. The Supreme Court will be abolished and the Law Lords reintroduced.
- The House of Lords will be reformed. Hereditary Peers and the Lords Spiritual will be removed and the system of political honours abolished. A new independent nominations commission will appoint a house of 400 peers to serve for a maximum of 15 years with selection criteria to include political balance, competence and capacity to function in a revised upper chamber.
- We will withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the Council of Europe, the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and all other international instruments which deny UK border sovereignty.
- Political and economic power shall be further decentralised via existing devolved regional bodies and the creation of additional such entities within geographically and culturally coherent areas. Local authorities shall be granted greater autonomy including tax raising powers.