Moderator: This is a response to this post by James Graham.
Stella Creasy (London, involve):
Dear James,
Thank you for responding to my speech to the Make Votes Count fringe. Like you I am committed to democracy as the process by which we find shared solutions to shared problems. That’s why I believe political parties are vital; they are the vehicles that bring individuals and groups together to work for a set of common priorities for social action. The alternative is a world in which only the loudest voices or largest wallets determine outcomes. Electoral reform is a moral imperative to ensure a fair and open process by which we choose between those competing agendas. That only a minority of the public consider themselves to have talked about politics in recent years to me suggests it is not the fairness of voting they question, but its very relevance.
Low turnout and party membership is the tip of the iceberg. The truth is the public are increasingly turning to their shopping trolleys rather than the ballot box to express their opinions. Electoral reform and party renewal alone will not restore the diminishing faith the public now has that politics can and does change the world. We need to address the cultural shift in our society that has taken place and which now means pop stars are considered more worthy proponents of social change than elected representatives. As we watch protestors in Burma fight for their basic human rights we should acknowledge our nation has become complacent about its own democratic culture. Focusing only political parties or the voting system for this outlook serves to reinforce the sense this is all simply someone else’s fault.
Nye Bevan once challenged those who were “pure but impotent”; individuals who demand only one solution to social challenges and refuse to countenance even discussing anything else. This in turn enables them to avoid responsibility for acting themselves. The time has come for our debates about constitutional and democratic engagement to move forward. All of us need to fight not just for a fairer electoral system but also the value of political engagement in itself. This is uncomfortable territory for the public – and for campaigning organisations of all persuasions. We all need to let go of our scapegoats and instead ask what we can do to salvage politics and the practice of democracy. Britain will not find salvation to the disengagement we now experience in our public realm through new structures or reformed political parties alone. To suggest otherwise is to watch as Rome burns and blame the olive trees for being flammable.
