Written by Sean McCaughey
Introduction
Charter 88 is a pressure group that wishes to develop and expand democracy. Charter88 does not support any political parties and is an independent organisation. It has over eighty thousand supporters who believe that there is a better way of running Britain. It is has a number of targets including, reforming voting, incorporating the European Convention on Human Rights into British Law, reforming parliament at Westminster, devolution ñ the decentralisation of government, promoting citizenship and introducing a written Citizensí Constitution, reforming governance and promoting openness through the freedom of information. I have discussed these aims and the methods used to achieve them below, for reforming voting and promoting citizenship, introducing a written Citizensí Constitution.
Charter 88 believes that voting is the most important issue in democracy and that a system is needed that ensures everyone can be represented no matter how small a minority they belong to, as the current system (First Past The Post) distorts the wishes of the public. Charter 88 feels that, for many people, voting is their only political act.
Charter 88 wants a new system of voting introduced known as AV+(Alternative Voting), which they believe results in more proportional representation of parties. However they only wish to see this introduced as a minimum improvement in the election process and only after a referendum has taken place.
Charter 88 feels the current voting system, First Past The Post, is inefficient at electing the most desired candidate for either a constituency or for a seat in parliament. For example, during the 1997 elections twenty-five percent of people in Surrey and Dorset voted Labour, yet thanks to First Past The Post there are no Labour MPs in those counties, thus the views of these people are not represented in Westminster.
Charter 88 also thinks First Past The Post also has other adverse effects on democracy as a result of its inefficiency in proportional representation: Firstly it contributes to low turnouts in elections as people feel their view will not be represented even if they vote. Secondly political parties direct their campaigns to voters in marginal constituencies in order to gain seats in these areas. Thirdly the progress of new or small parties is halted as people feel their vote would be wasted because these parties would not achieve representation. Fourthly discrimination, when parties choose candidates, is active against female and minority candidates in areas where constituency parties consider there to be ëwinnableí seats. Lastly tactical voting is encouraged to ensure the party people do not want is not elected, this means people do not necessarily vote for the party they want to win.
Charter 88 believe that this inefficiency in proportional representation also results in an unstable government being elected with the majority in parliament to implement policies not wanted by most voters and therefore not a democratic decision.
Charter 88 believes that if the AV+, Alternative Voting system was used the flaws found in the First Past The Post system would be gradually eradicated.
Under AV+, voters would vote once for candidates in the local constituency and once more for the local region. For the local constituency, voters would be able to elect one MP but can list candidates in order of preference. A candidate has to win at least half the vote to be elected. If this does not happen then the candidate with least votes is eliminated and the second preferences of voters are distributed between the candidates. This method is repeated until a candidate has achieved at least half the vote.
For the local region, the voter would elect from candidates standing for seventy-eight regions based on counties and cities. One, possibly two candidates, nominated by the parties, would be elected depending on the size of the region. Seats would be awarded through the following procedure: The number of second votes for each party would be counted and then divided by the amount of constituencies gained in the region plus one, to avoid dividing by zero (which is impossible). An extra MP is then assigned to the party with the highest adjusted number of votes; this process is repeated if a second MP is to be appointed for a region (taking into account the MP already elected).
Charter 88 believes AV+ would improve the voting system in a number of ways: Firstly, they believe proportional representation would be improved. Secondly they believe voter choice would be improved as they have two votes, which also gives a better picture of how voters feel about various parties whilst eliminating reasons to use tactical voting. As no MP is elected unless they have gained at least half the vote, the candidate who is elected will represent the beliefs and opinions of the voters. Lastly parties will not have the advantage of ëgranted seatsí in areas where they have a stronger poll because regional MPs are also appointed.
Charter 88 believes that for democracy to be fair the issue of democratic exclusion must be placed at its centre. It has to encourage a society that provides protection against the rights of individuals and encourages responsibility whilst acknowledging the principles of all citizens within the democracy. Charter 88 feels that the way to promote citizenship is by introducing a written Citizensí Constitution and wishes to see it approved, by a considerable majority, in a referendum before the year 2010.
Charter 88 believes that Britain needs a Citizensí Constitution primarily to establish controls over what governments can and cannot do in the name of its citizens. They also want the Constitution to include a Bill of Rights that citizens can use should they feel their rights have been breached.
Charter 88 think that citizens need the authority to limit the power of the state particularly as they feel that the House of Commons is controlled by one political party in this era of modern politics. They feel this control allows the government to force any legislation through the House of Commons and that a ëweakí House of Lord puts up little or any obstacles, should it disagree with the legislation, before the Crown automatically gives its consent. This means that the citizens in the society have no say in how it is run.
Charter 88 feels that Britain no longer has a unitary state, and that the supremacy parliament had has been damaged by the Human Rights Act. They feel that important parts of the civil service have been politicised and that the monarchy do not have a part to play in society anymore and have lost the instant respect they used to command. Charter 88 is angered by the increasing power that the prime minister has and by what they consider to be ëwinner-takes-all electionsí. In summary Charter 88 thinks that constitutional reform has been slow to say the least meaning that its effect has been stifled. This is the reason they are pressuring for the introduction of a written Citizensí Constitution.
Charter 88 believes that a written Citizensí Constitution will have many positive effects on citizenship in Britain. Firstly they think it will provide rules directing the method in which new rules are made and existing ones are modified. This will provide simple law together with fundamental rights to form a structure that will allow society flourish.
Charter 88 have not defined what the Citizensí Constitution would be as they think it should be decided through a democratic process with complete public participation, they have however set out principles they think the constitution should include: Firstly they want the constitution to ensure political equality whilst promoting social equality. Secondly they want democratic representation to be safeguarded within government. Thirdly they recommend the constitution includes a structure for the stable rule of law and sees citizens can claim and maintain their rights. They believe the constitution should return authority to citizens and allow them to force those in authority to explain themselves and if necessary pay for their mistakes. They think it will promote a diverse, open economy and society, protecting the variation it holds. They also think it will give an order to the devolution.
Charter 88 has reasons why the Citizensí Constitution has to be written down as well as established. Firstly it will mean that citizens have the power to implement authority over the government aside general elections. Also a written constitution will help eliminate continuous disagreements over the rules between different political parties. Charter 88 acknowledges that the Citizensí Constitution will not instantly create a society without prejudice, discrimination and abuse of authority. However they claim that without the Citizensí Constitution the other targets, such as reforming voting, reforming parliament and devolution to name a few, cannot be achieved.
In conclusion Charter 88 uses its independence to pressure those in authority to develop and expand democracy. The methods used by Charter 88, to achieve its targets, are to introduce new systems through democratic processes, such as AV+ for reforming voting. As the methods are democratic they result in the country being run by the people who live in it. It also means that governments find it impossible to disagree with proposals approved by citizens, as this would be against democracy, therefore Charter 88 is successful in pressurising for the development and expansion of democracy. It continues to have a stronger influence in pushing for its targets to be met as its support grows. Currently Charter 88 has over eighty thousand signatures.
November 2002.