Charter 88 is a pressure group which wishes to develop and expand democracy. Please research this pressure group and produce an essay which discusses its aims and methods.
Written by Ashley Geeves
A charter according to the Definitive English Dictionary is ëa formal document granting or demanding from the sovereign power of a state certain rights or libertiesí.
Charter 88 is an independent organisation that has over 80,000 supporters, who believe there is a better way to run the country. It was formed in 1988, and started as a publication in the Guardian and in New Statesman. It is an independent campaign that does not support or have any contacts with any political parties.
As they are not a membership organisation, their supporters are called signatories. Signatories are ëpeople who have signed a document such as a treaty or contract or organisation, state, etc., on whose behalf such a document has been signedí. They receive grant funding from some bodies but the supporters mainly fund it. They employ only 12 members of staff, and the rest are volunteers.
Charter 88 calls for greater democracy, as they demand that the Government should make decisions for the people and not for itself. They want the political institutions to be; just, open and accountable. Also to protect individual rights.
Charter 88 believes there is a need for change in how the political system is organised. The aims of Charter 88 is to have; a Democratic Parliament, Freedom of Information Act, a Bill of Rights, Decentralisation of Power and a Written Constitution.
As time does not permit me to explain about all of Charter 88ís aims, I will explain those that I believe are most important.
Democracy according to the Definitive English Dictionary is when a country is governed ëby the people or their elected representativesí. The way in which Charter 88 aims to achieve a democratic parliament is by having proportional representation as the voting system. Proportional representation is when the elected parties, get the same percentage of seats that they got voted for, this makes sure that minorities are represented as well as the majority groups.
Charter 88 believes that FPTP (First Past the Post) is not an efficient system because it prevents the development of parties representing minority groups. For example, in the 1997 election in Wales, the conservative party got 19.6% of the votes, however there are no conservative, members of parliament are in Wales, so this meant that the people who voted are not represented in Westminster. Another reason is that usually governments are elected on a minority vote, for example; the labour party got 43% in the 1997 election, yet they still got into power.
Fundamentally, proportional representation is a good idea, as it expresses the political views of the people. However, I do not believe this system would work in our country.
Unlike Charter 88, I disagree with proportional representation because there would always be coalition governments, due to the fact that it is nearly impossible for one single party to get the majority, which is 51%. This is shown on the Charter 88 website, which has a record of the election results since 1945, and no, one, single party has got over 50% of the votes ever. This would cause problems, as there would only be a limited amount of variations, of coalition governments possible. This is because each party has such different views, which would just make them argue all the time and would make laws impossible to make. This would mean that each coalition government in power, would not last very long, a prime example of this is Italy, which practically has a change of government every year.
One of Charter 88ís long-term aims is a written ëCitizenís Constitutioní. They say they want to see a written Citizensí Constitution before 2010, ratified in a referendum by a large, measured and confident majority.
Charter 88 has always campaigned for a written constitution, the primary purpose of which would be to set out the limits of what governments may and may not do in our name. They argue that a written constitution must contain a Bill of Rights, there by granting every citizen a legal remedy, should they need it, if their rights are infringed by the state.
Charter 88 believes that for the citizens to have a constitution they need to build it themselves. In the U.K they would like to embark upon a wide scale process of public discussion, debate and participation. They believe that it is not the place or role of Charter 88 to predefine what a democratic constitution will be.
A constitution sets out the relationship between individuals and the Government. It defines the powers of the state and its agencies. This can only be of value if people feel an ownership of their constitution and other institutions are open and fair. They are confident that a democratic process will lead the country to a creative resolution of the problems of representation, legitimacy and accountability.
The first written constitution in England was the Magna Carta, the great charter of English liberty, signed by King John, in Runnymede on the 15th June 1215.
ě..and when in subsequent ages the state, swollen with its own authority, has attempted to ride rough shod over the rights and liberties of the subject it is to this document that appeal has again and again been made, and never, as yet, without success...î
Winston Churchill, History of the English-Speaking Peoples.
A written constitution is a good idea as it makes the government more accountable, however, a written constitution is not always a good thing. I believe that some of the problems in America are due to them having a written constitution. For example, it part of their constitution that they have a right to ëbare armsí.
I believe that Charter 88ís aims are somewhat naive. When reading their aims they sound idealistic, however I do not see how these aims would work when put into practice. For example, proportional representation as it would lead to, too many coalition governments. A constitution written today may not be appropriate in 200 years time.
I feel we do need pressure groups like Charter 88, to monitor and challenge the main political parties, which would help to ensure a democratic society.
November 2002