Campaign Blog

We’ll meet again…

Our Gravy Train started its journey in North West London. We offered to collect local MPs who felt that voters didn't deserve a say on how politicians win and lose their jobs. High on the list was Tony McNulty - famous for claiming a second home, some 8 miles from his primary residence, occupied by his parents.

The Harrow MP's staffers gave us short shrift when we came by to pick him up in our Gravy Train. And the man himself was hardly thrilled by the prospect of a reunion by the seaside today.

Tony's fellow MPs may feel secure behind conference walls, but we'll continue targeting the politicians who aren't prepared to show faith in their voters with a referendum.

Trainspotting in Brighton

Brighton has a lot to offer the discerning Trainspotter. The Volks, the world's oldest electric railway. A charming mid-Victorian station. And now 10 feet of primary coloured plastic, answering to the name of Gilbert.

Our Gravy Train hit Brighton seafront today. We spent the day getting the message out, focusing attention on a system that has left so many politicians free to enjoy what are essentially jobs for life in hundreds of safe seats. And we were induted by the interest from the assemblied press as we passed from the pier to the conference centre offering a free ride to delegates - first class of course.

Later we joined with thousands of protestors, and ended leading the advance on the conference centre. Supporters can find out more from reports from local residents and the press.

Fellow campaigners came to protest about a wide range of issues. They wanted to start a debate. And that's all we're asking in our calls for a referendum on the voting system - a real debate on the future of our parliament, a debate that leaves the verdict to that voters.

It was a long day, but we were really pleased by the reactions we received. We heard from delegates, protestors and residents frustrated by the actions and attitudes of unaccountable politicians. Gilbert proved a hit on the seafront because our image of the Gravy Train, while ridiculous, registered. It's a picture we'll be bringing north to the Conservatives in Manchester next week.

Let’s hit the beach!

Today we headed south for Brighton with a message for delegates. Politics needs to change, and that change begins by giving voters a choice on how we elect our politicians.

Conference season pretty much sums up the state of our politics. In place of debate we see stage managing and bravado. Inside delegates spend their days behind high fences in ‘Secure Zones'.Outside most of us are left scratching our heads.

But after this summer of sleaze Labour's Annual Conference in Brighton is Brown's opportunity to show he is prepared to put voters first. He can use his speech to give voters a real choice between the old politics and the new. Or he can just give the choir the same old tub-thumping.

We've already taken our campaign into the seats of MPs who feel voters don't deserve the final say on the future of their parliament. Now Brighton is the Prime Minister's best chance to show that he's really interested in fixing our broken politics, by offering a meaningful choice to voters at a referendum on the voting system.
We need to call a halt to the Westminster Gravy Train. We'll be putting on the pressure in the run up to Tuesday's speech.

Watch Twitter and Facebook for updates from inside and outside the Brighton Centre.

An appeal to Cameron

We're busy getting ready to take our message to Brighton. But today we're taking time out to think ahead to the next leg of our journey - Manchester, and the Conservative Party conference.

A few weeks ago, our supporters got our foot in the door at No. 10 with a "Dear Gordon" letter to the PM. Now we're preparing a "Dear David" letter to Mr. Cameron - challenging him to support a referendum at the next election so that voters can choose how Parliament is elected.

Cameron's party has always stated among its core principles that people should have the freedom to make their own decisions. We're not asking him to support our view that our current electoral system is broken and urgently needs change. We're just asking him to support our right to have a say in how we choose our representatives in Parliament.

"If you are confident that you can persuade British voters of the advantages of the current system," the letter reads, "we ask you to embrace the principle of a national debate at a referendum."

Our "Dear Gordon" letter succeeded - yielding a direct response from the PM, and an invitation to Westminster - on the strength of the 2,000 activists who co-signed it. You make sure our message gets through by co-signing our "Dear David" letter today

The Gravy Train Hits North West London

We never thought a campaign that's all about giving voters a choice was "irresponsible".

But that's just how Steve Curran, chairman of Brentford & Isleworth Constituency Labour Party, branded the first leg in our campaign to expose the politicians who aren't prepared to let voters decide the future of the House of Commons.

Yesterday our Gravy Train passed through North-West London, Labour's Ann Keen, Tony McNulty and Claire Ward the first targets on our list.

And boy was it a busy day.

It began with a call from Watford Police early Tuesday morning. Apparently the Mayor's office had been on to them saying that a trainload of MPs were coming to Watford that day and they didn't know anything about it.

There were worries about security and protocol. The Ferrero Rocher had apparently not yet been arranged in a big triangular pile.

Concerns deepened when they found out it wasn't exactly the real Brown, Blears, and Cameron touring their fair town.

Our campaigners did a fantastic job, handing out ‘Gravy Train' season tickets and other campaign information to voters across the area, unveiling a series of new billboards, and making things a little uncomfortable for some MPs who've got used to a pretty comfortable life in Westminster.

But for some reason we didn't feel quite welcome when we paid a visit to the MPs' constituency offices. Squad cars greeted us when we called on Ann Keen. When we came to collect Tony McNulty his office staffers told us precisely where to go.

Well we didn't expect an easy ride. And our MPs aren't going to get one as long as they stand in the way of a referendum.

Full steam ahead for the Gravy Train…

This summer the Westminster Gravy Train hit the buffers. And from tomorrow we're taking our very own Gravy Train  on the road, and into the seats of MPs who believe that we don't deserve a say on the future of our parliament.

Today our politicians have to decide - are they with the voters or against them?

We're not out simply to berate the villains of the expenses crisis. We're out to expose the roadblocks to change, those MPs who feel that voters don't deserve the final say on the future of their parliament.

Politics isn't about lectures. It's about debate. We want a debate on the future of our democracy, not to be told what's best for us by politicians who've been so well served by the system.

We welcome any of supporters of the current system prepared to have a national debate. Let them have their say. But let the voters have the final verdict at a referendum.

Opinion polls have shown that voters are prepared to reward politicians who trust them enough to let them decide how MPs are elected. Starting today, those don't trust their voters will face the consequences.

So MPs watch out: your penalty fare is due, in full.

PS: Video will be coming soon to our Youtube channel shortly after our first stop. You can keep up with latest on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Open House? You’re having a laugh

Tomorrow the House of Commons gets ready for it's Open House Day.

We'd like to think our parliament was really 'Open'. But we've seen the reality. While the gift shop will be open to brisque trade tomorrow, the House itself is closed to millions of voters, who simply happen to live in the wrong seat, as far as our winner-takes-all elections are concerned. And no amount of parliamentary fudge is going to fix that.  

So today our campaigners made a little visit to College Green with a very simple message - that the House of Commons - our House of Commons is closed. Closed to Democracy that is.  It was a great morning for everyone concerned, and photos are now avaialble on Facebook

An Open House isn't just about pulling down the cordons once a year. We need a parliament that values us as voters, not just as tourists. Yet in election after election our voices haven't been heard, and that's thanks to an antique electoral system.

A referendum is our chance to let the light of day into a Museum Piece Parliament.

Our MPs can make the same old arguments about National Heritage, but the final verdict must rest with the voters.

A lesson in democracy…

"We vest power in people who are elected and that we can get rid of, rather than those we can't."

Ah! If only it were true. Sadly most of our MPs aren't going anywhere thanks to a system that leaves them safe as houses with unbreakable majorities.

This commentary was delivered none other than David Cameron, in a head to head with his old tutor, Oxford's Professor Vernon Bogdanor, at this week's Woodstock Literary Festival.

Cameron's former teacher, one of the UK's leading authorities on democray, has dominated the Tory's summer reading lists. His latest, The New British Constitution, sets out very clearly that we need to lose our moribund voting system if we're going to build a better democracy.

We hope the holidays haven't proved too distracting for Cameron and his MPs. We've all been a little guilty of buying a little aspirational literature, only to see it decorating our bookshelves. But politicians from all parties can definately take a leaf out of the good professor's book.

As the Professor wrote earlier this year as the expenses crisis broke, any package to fix Westminster that skips on voting reform is effectively "Hamlet without the Prince."

Today we need to give our MPs a little lesson in democracy. Give us a choice on the future of our parliament...
http://www.voteforachange.co.uk/referendum

Unions join the call for reform

The logic behind a referendum is pretty simple. Voters should decide how we hire and fire our MPs. It's our parliament after all. 

So we're thrilled that today the Trades Union Congress have got behind the calls for reform. We face difficult choices in our economy, on jobs and on tax, on health and education. And we need to know that our government and our parliament is both representative and accountable to the working people of Britain.

This is the first time in over a century that this debate has been allowed on the floor of Congress. The Unions join a growing list from across civil society pushing for change and it's no wonder the government is moving with the pressure and seriously considering giving people a referendum on how MPs should be elected.

In the past the unions have been a powerful block against reform, their new found warmth towards the change is another sign that a system frozen in time during the last century is now beginning to thaw.

Already former hardcore First-Past-the-Poster Roy Hattersley has come in from the cold. He's rightly rounded on a system that hands an "invincible majority" to parties on a fraction of the vote. We invite any other politicians to make the same leap of faith.

We welcome the debate in the Congress. But this is one debate that affects us all, and must include every British citizen. And that's only possible with a referendum.

Your MP: The only thing on the menu…

Oh dear oh dear. David Cameron weighs in with another wheeze to save the Mother of All Parliaments. And what is it today? The end of subsidised grub for Members of Parliament and their staff.

Cameron said the cost would be raised to "match the prices normal people pay in cafes, restaurants and bars around the country" - which he said would save up to £5.5m.

That's trust and confidence in politics restored then. I guess we can all go home.

Belt tightening makes for a nice press release. But we're not sure what else it achieves for democracy - beyond possibly forcing the legion of unpaid staff using the Commons canteen to work nights.

But when David heads down to lunch today he might want to consider the options before him.

If you turn up at a restaurant, your heart set on the Ratatouille, you wouldn't expect the waiter to offer you the Steak Tartar, just because that's what the other table ordered.

You can moan about being a vegetarian as much as you like. But nobody's listening.

Sadly that's how it works in our parliament. In our safe seats there is no choice of MP. Whether you're Labour, Tory, Lib Dem or Green- you'll get the only thing on the menu, whether you like it or not. In Cameron's own seat of Whitney the majority of voters have wanted other candidates in all recent general elections. But their voices haven't been heard. 

We need real choice at Westminster. We need to know that our votes have a chance of influencing who speaks in our name. So David, let's see a little less of the tinkering, and a bit more on the issues.

If you value choice, there's nothing to fear from giving us all a choice on how we elect our politicians.