THINK Debate: Repairing UK Democracy

Diagnosing the main problems and challenges for UK democracy and suggesting solutions

 
"Illegal campaign spending, increases in hate crimes against (especially female and ethnic minority) politicians, opaque government contracts, fake news, and social media echo chambers and hidden advertising. These are just some of the threats that our UK democracy faces right now. And then there is Brexit. And Russia. And old chestnuts like the first past the post system and the voting age.    

On the brink of Brexit, we ask: Is British democracy broken? Join us as Caroline Molloy (Open Democracy) and Michela Palese (Electoral Reform Society) assess the state of UK democracy and share their thoughts about how to fix it. 

Speakers

• Michela Palese, Research and Policy Officer, Electoral Reform Society
• Caroline Molloy, Editor of OpenDemocracy UK, OurNHS, a journalist and speaker.

Reading List

The key readings for the this THINK debate are:

• ERS Report "Westminster Beyond Brexit: Ending Politics of Division"
• UCL Constitution Unit Report "Doing Democracy Better"
• Political Insight artical "Can Democracy be Done Better?"
• ERS blog post on updating electoral law "We've told Parliament the case for updating our campaign Rules - now it's time to act"

Join us on Wednesday 18 November at 7pm for our fianl virtual THINK Debate of term.

Join Zoom webinar