Corbyn pledges to scrap House of Lords and ‘democratise our country from the ground up’

Leadership contender pledges to extend democracy in the country, in communities, in the economy and in the party

 

Jeremy Corbyn has unveiled plans to tackle Britain’s democratic deficit, including the replacement of the House of Lords with an elected second chamber and greater devolution of power to local communities.

As ballots for the Labour leadership started to go out, Corbyn said he would ‘break open the closed circle of Westminster and Whitehall, and of the boardrooms too’.

His promises include a radical overhaul of the constitution, radical devolution to councils, regions and nations, the replacement of the House of Lords, a greater role for citizens assemblies and greater local control over public services, including an entitlement to call local referendums to challenge privatisation.

On economic democrary, Corbyn has reiterated his commitment to expanding workers’ rights by giving employees greater collective and individual bargaining rights.

Within the Labour Party, he promises to create a charter of rights from party members, expand the national executive to recognise membership increases and do more to empower diverse sections of the membership, including women, working class, black, disabled and LGBT members.

Speaking about his plans the incumbent leadership candidate commented:

“Decisions in Britain are overwhelmingly taken from the top down. And that’s crucial to why our country is run in the interests of a privileged few.

“That has to change – so that the country works in the interests of the millions, and not just the millionaires.

“I believe in the wisdom of ordinary citizens. That’s why we are launching proposals to extend democracy in every part of public life: in national politics, communities, the economy and the workplace – and in our own party.

“Labour under my leadership will listen to ideas from the bottom up – and take radical action to transform and rebuild our country so that no one and no community is left behind. We need nothing less than a democratic revolution in our politics, communities and workplaces.”

Interestingly, Corbyn’s pledge does not make any reference to electoral reform. While other progressive parties believe that scrapping first past the post is essential to building a more robust democracy, Labour tends to be more wary of electoral change.

See also: People want to ‘take back control’ — MPs can make that happen today

8 Responses to “Corbyn pledges to scrap House of Lords and ‘democratise our country from the ground up’”

  1. The UK is now a sporting superpower – what can our politicians learn from Team GB? | Left Foot Forward

    […] this end, it is therefore encouraging that Jeremy Corbyn has announced plans to abolish the House of Lords and replace it with an elected House. This follows Green Peer Jenny […]

  2. Oliver Cromwell's Chamber Pot

    The Lords should be reformed but not abolished… unless a devolved English Parliament is established, in which case, yes it should. But so long as the Lords exists, there are a number of reforms to make it more effective, you just look at what works and what doesn’t, consolidate the former and tidy up the latter;

    *Cap the membership at 475.
    *150 elected peers; 50 elected across single UK constituency to non-renewable 12-year terms every four years.
    *150 appointed peers, appointed independently by a Lords committee for knowledge, skills, and experience.
    *Removal of power for Prime Minister to appoint unlimited number of new peers.
    *150 hereditary peers, elected by fellow hereditary peers as now.
    *25 Lords Spiritual.
    *Mandatory retirement age at 75 for all peers.
    *Repeal of Parliament Act 1949, restoring to the Lords a two-year veto over primary legislation.
    *All of the above codified in a new Act of Parliament that contains an entrenchment clause explicitly stating that upon passage of and Royal Assent being given to said Bill, any reform of the Lords must originate from and be initiated by the Lords itself.

    Sensible reforms for an effective revising chamber, whereby the primacy of the Commons is maintained, and there is proper proportional representation for parties. I’ll take my £350 in cash now, if you don’t mind…

  3. George Kennard

    Scrap the House of Lords – of course. But the monarchy too, please.

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