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Now is not the time to defend Britain’s democracy – we need a democratic revolution

The ancient institutions of the British state are well past their sell-by date. Only a radical shake-up can resolve the crisis.

By Laurie Macfarlane
Now is not the time to defend Britain’s democracy – we need a democratic revolution
Image: Victoria Jones/PA Wire/PA Images
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“Defend democracy – resist the parliament shutdown”. This is the rallying call of protestors gathering today to oppose Boris Johnson’s proroguing of parliament.

To be clear: I think the protests are well intentioned. Boris Johnson’s cynical attempt to force through a no deal Brexit is reckless and should be opposed, including on the streets if necessary.

But there is something unsettling about taking to the streets to “defend” our democracy, when it is precisely our broken democratic structures that are to blame for the mess we are in.

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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0