centre (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
With all this talk about “constitutional change”: House of Lords Reform; Referendum on Scottish separatism; greater Fiscal and Monetary Union in Europe, now would appear to be the time for people in Scotland to consider its democratic future.
Scotland has already experienced several changes since a Scottish Parliament was established in 1999. There have been improvements in openness, accessibility and transparency – though none of that is complete – along with welcome changes to a more proportional voting system for Local Government. There are however, still some deficits, in the democracy of the UK as a whole, for example, lack of proper devolution in England.
The Electoral Reform Society in Scotland are in the process of creating a “Democracy Max” programme. Over the next year their aim is to set out a vision of the ‘Good Scottish Democracy’.
To that end they are organising a series of round-tables and public events to debate issues of democracy within the changing political environment in which Scots live. These events will be a non-partisan space where those with different views can debate and discuss Scotland’s future and where political rhetoric can be challenged and unpicked.
To start with they will be holding a People’s Assembly to gather the Scottish voter’s perspective on democracy and the constitution and to identify what concerns Scots themselves want to see addressed as part of the Inquiry. You can register your interest using this link. Just three of the possible questions to consider are listed below.
- How do we make sure politicians hear the people and act in their interests?
- Do the media and big money have too much power over politicians?
- Why does politics seem so distant and irrelevant to people?
Democracy Max – Future of Scottish Democracy
centre (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
With all this talk about “constitutional change”: House of Lords Reform; Referendum on Scottish separatism; greater Fiscal and Monetary Union in Europe, now would appear to be the time for people in Scotland to consider its democratic future.
Scotland has already experienced several changes since a Scottish Parliament was established in 1999. There have been improvements in openness, accessibility and transparency – though none of that is complete – along with welcome changes to a more proportional voting system for Local Government. There are however, still some deficits, in the democracy of the UK as a whole, for example, lack of proper devolution in England.
The Electoral Reform Society in Scotland are in the process of creating a “Democracy Max” programme. Over the next year their aim is to set out a vision of the ‘Good Scottish Democracy’.
To that end they are organising a series of round-tables and public events to debate issues of democracy within the changing political environment in which Scots live. These events will be a non-partisan space where those with different views can debate and discuss Scotland’s future and where political rhetoric can be challenged and unpicked.
To start with they will be holding a People’s Assembly to gather the Scottish voter’s perspective on democracy and the constitution and to identify what concerns Scots themselves want to see addressed as part of the Inquiry. You can register your interest using this link. Just three of the possible questions to consider are listed below.