The next UK general election could be a “Trump-sized disaster” unless the Labor government takes steps to boost public trust in the political system, former ministers and campaigners have warned.
Caps on political donations and expanding the powers of the House of Lords Appointments Committee to block inappropriate peer nominations are among 54 proposals set out in a document by campaign group Unlock Democracy.
Activists acknowledged what Keir Starmer had done. Changes to ministerial ordinancesincluding tightening rules regarding gifts in the wake of controversy over freebies.
But they argued that the prime minister could ignore recommendations by independent advisers on ministerial interests “without explanation”, while allowing former ministers to continue looking for jobs outside government.
The Unlock Democracy document also recommends the introduction of clear job descriptions to enable voters and standards commissioners to assess the performance of MPs.
The paper argues that Britain's “overreliance on convention and norms” is the cause of democratic fragility. It is calling on the government to give the House of Lords Appointments Committee the power to block nominations for titles to tackle perceptions of nepotism.
Significant cuts to party campaign spending and caps on political donations were also recommended to reduce the ability of wealthy donors to “wield enormous and unaccountable influence.”
Other recommendations proposed to reverse “democratic backsliding” include:
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Before the new government can bring forward the King's Speech, ministers must be approved by a selection committee of parliamentarians, and parliament must approve the new prime minister.
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Close loopholes that allow unincorporated organizations to hide the source of political contributions and allow expatriates to donate to political parties.
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Gifts to MPs and ministers are capped at £200 per item, and second-line income is capped at half the MP's salary.
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The Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament and the 2015 Parliamentary Recall Act will be amended to allow for the imposition of sanctions if members do not fulfill their responsibilities.
“Donald Trump's return to the White House should be a wake-up call for all of us who value democracy,” said Tom Brake, director of Unlock Democracy and former Liberal Democrat minister. We cannot simply assume that something similar will never happen here.
“Public confidence in the integrity of the political system is declining, while concerns about government accountability to elected representatives and elected officials’ accountability to voters continue to rise. ”
He said the proposed measures “have the advantage of being low-cost and highly effective.”
The proposal is backed by former Attorney-General Dominic Grieve and former Liberal Democrat constitutional reform spokesman Paul Tyler in both the House of Commons and Lords.
“Unless this government and this Congress urgently address the flaws in our democracy and the loss of public trust in political integrity, the next general election could be a Trump-sized disaster,” Tyler said. ” he said.
Caroline Slocock, director of think tank Civil Exchange and former private secretary to Margaret Thatcher and John Major, said: The government rightly promised a reset, and a new government is the right time to do so, and this report shows how. ”
