Political Parties

John Jackson (London, Mishcon de Reya): Ahem!  Whilst I agree with most of what has been said about the Damian Green affair – particularly the activities of the police, there is an awkward aspect which is in danger of being stuffed under the carpet.

Parliamentary Privilege – a hugely important part of our unwritten constitution -  evolved well before political parties and their activities were a part of our landscape. It was, and is, an essential part of the way in which we, all of us, are protected from the abuse of power by those in control of the state. It is our protection and those who are elected by us to serve in Parliament, our MPs, have a duty to remember that in all their dealings. It is not just a rule of their playground!

Graham Goddard and Tim Perkins (Carms & Manchester): There is currently a consensus among the three main political parties in the UK. They are no longer trying to differentiate themselves in terms of policies, but in terms of how effective they are at implementing those policies which have so far substantially failed the majority of society. In 1997, when Tony Blair brought Labour to power, there were great hopes that they would bring a new radical government which would reverse the movement towards a ‘me-first' society divided by wealth and income that was engendered by Thatcherism.

Nan Sloane (Leeds, Centre for Women and Democracy): Does it really matter that only 19.8% of our MPs are women, that women constitute a mere 31% of local councillors, and that BME women are even more poorly represented at these levels? After all, women have the vote, and are free to stand for local councils or parliament if they want to. If they don't choose to, why should it be a problem?

Andrew Blick (London, Houses of Parliament): Menzies Campbell has cited "seven consecutive reports about my age and about leadership" as prompting his resignation. While there were obviously deeper lying reasons for the pressure on him, that his age can be used in this way through the media is dispiriting. It is now blithely accepted that politicians have an earlier and earlier sell-by date. Yet as life expectancy increases society as a whole is growing older (the average age of a person in the UK has risen from 34 to 39 since 1971); and the average age of voters has risen faster again. There is no obvious reason that the demographic trends for political leaders should be moving in the opposite direction. Indeed it could be sensible for parties to include on their front benches some drawn from the same generation of large sections of the electorate. Compared to other MPs (average age approximately 50) Campbell is not ancient. And at 66 he is only a year older than Winston Churchill when he became Prime Minister for the first time (and roughly fifteen years younger than Churchill when he finally made way for the younger and disastrous Anthony Eden). Churchill combined the crime of being in his sixties with a drinking habit of the sort which helped undo Campbell's predecessor. Yet he was undoubtedly the right man to lead the country against the Axis Powers in 1940 - surely even more demanding a task than taking charge of the Liberal Democrats in 2007.

James Graham (London, Unlock Democracy): James Campbell's piece in the Spectator arguing against state funding of political parties is par for the course. A critic of Sir Hayden Phillips who is reporting on how political parties can be funded, he misses most points.

Guy Aitchison (Bristol, OK): The momentum behind political reform continues to build. Today I went to the launch of Future Britain, a project established by the LSE to explore options for carrying out constitutional reform. Around two hundred of us filed into a lecture theatre to listen to politicians from Canada and New Zealand and our own Westminster MPs, as well as the "usual suspects" in the form of campaigners, academics and journalists. Arguments were rehearsed on the need for reform, interesting questions were raised on a British Bill of Rights, and we discovered how Westminster, the "mother of all parliaments", has a lot to learn from its far more democratic offspring. But what I was really interested in seeing was the mood among the parties following Brown's proposals. Will the opposition seize the chance to push for radical and transformative democratic reform? Here was a chance to find out.

Tony Curzon Price (London, oD): France Culture talked with Benjamin Stora, Professeur d'histoire du Maghreb à l'Inalco, in a fascinating radio show about the history of immigration policy in France since the 1880's, when Italian immigrants were slaughtered in anti-outsider protests in the South of France. In the course of some gripping anecdotes, Stora mentions how important political parties and trade unions were in "creating a republican culture". An otherwise naturally anti-immigrant labor movement was kept pro-foreigner in the 1930s because of the number of Spaniards, Italians and Poles in the trade unions, the Communist Party and the Socialist Federation. Following on from Vron Ware's post, this made we wonder what institutions we have left, today, that have a hope of sustaining the shared political culture that all party leaders are agreed we want and need. Not the parties themselves - now marketing machines rather than membership organisations - or the post-Thatcher trade unions. Isn't this a real opportunity for a constitutional movement and the direct initiatives that are gaining in popularity? Make these truly open and accessible networks, and they become the type of organisation and enterprise that have a chance of fostering the political and social values that can define us.

Jon Bright (London OK): Party representatives start talks today to try and decide on new rules for party funding, following the publication of the review by Hayden Phillips. Unlock Democracy decided to test public opinion and commissioned an ICM poll (opens in a word document). In addition to probing attitudes on party funding they asked: "Which of the following organisations do you think has the most important role to play in Britain's democratic system of government?" Here are the answers.