“MAKE IT AN ISSUE” A WELCOME DEVELOPMENT FOR DEMOCRACY – TYLER

Liberal Democrat Shadow Constitutional Affairs Minister, Lord Tyler, today (Monday) welcomed a new initiative launched by the Labour Peer, Helena Kennedy, to give people a say in the reform of the British constitution.

Commenting Lord Tyler said:

“This is an excellent development of the cross-party Taking Power initiative, which I convened online in the autumn at http://www.takingpower.org.

“We asked people to comment on the whole range of recommendations made by Helena Kennedy’s POWER Inquiry, which comprehensively revealed failings of our democratic system.  This analysis endorsed the Liberal Democrat approach but has also stimulated our “Better Governance” policy development. 

“Citizens’ juries are an excellent way to gain the views of those outside the immediate Westminster bubble and I will be interested to see how the “Make It An Issue” initiative can develop the idea to mesh with our representative democracy.

“Helena Kennedy is spot on when she says that if we are to attract public interest, we must connect ‘bread and butter’ issues with the imperative to reform our democratic institutions.”

ENDS

Note to Editors:    Lord Tyler will write to all 600 participants in the Taking Power online conference to encourage them to participate in “Make It An Issue”.  The Liberal Democrats will be debating at their Spring Conference in Harrogate a consultation paper, prepared by the party’s “Better Governance” working group.