Unlock Democracy

Commenting on the upcoming report by the Committee on Standards in Public Life, chaired by Sir Christopher Kelly, Deputy Director of Unlock Democracy Alexandra Runswick said: “In our own submission to the Committee, Unlock Democracy called for the reformed expenses system to be based on three p...

Parliament will have a chance to vote to radically open up the finances of quangos and national government on Wednesday when it will debate to beef up the government’s Local Spending Reports. ...

19 October: Writing in the Guardian letters page, Unlock Democracy Director Peter Facey and Director of the Democratic Audit Stuart Wilks-Heeg commented on the Ministry of Justice’s new report on Royal Prerogative powers: “The report essentially reverses the bold intentions, paraded in a green pap...

Criticising Secretary of State Ed Balls’ dismissal of the House of Commons Children, Schools and Families Select Committee’s rejection of his choice for children’s commissioner, Director of Unlock Democracy Peter Facey said: “This is the first real test of the confirmation system which has been in...

Cover to Citizen (Autumn 2009) In this issue: Peter Preston on the rise of David Cameron Alex Runswick on the Citizens’ Convention Bill ...

Following reports that the Guardian newspaper has been prevented from reporting the publication of a Parliamentary Question following legal action by the solicitors’ firm Carter-Ruck on behalf of an undisclosed client, Director of Unlock Democracy Peter Facey commented: “Preventing the media fro...

13 October: In The Scotsman, Unlock Democracy Director Peter Facey advises MPs not to revolt about the Sir Thomas Legg review of Parliamentary allowances: “Let us not forget that it arose because the House of Commons’ authorities spent years and hundreds of thousands of pounds attempting to cir...

Cover to The Unspoken Constitution The Unspoken Constitution is a unique, satirical account of how we are governed in the United Kingdom. It has been written by Stuart Weir and Stuart Wilks-Heeg of Democratic Audit...

Commenting on rumours that MPs may refuse to comply with requests by Sir Thomas Legg for them to repay a proportion of their allowances, Director of Unlock Democracy Peter Facey said: “The allowance abuse scandal is a storm entirely of Parliament’s making. T...

Published in the Guardian on 12 October 2009 MPs returning to Parliament this week might like to think that the fury they faced earlier in the year due to the expenses scandal is now behind them...

5 October: On Comment is Free, Unlock Democracy Director Peter Facey summarises the Conservative’s position on democratic reform: “What will Cameron do over the next few months to ensure that his claim to embody change amounts to more than mere rhetoric? … ...

29 September: The BBC reported Unlock Democracy’s response to Gordon Brown’s announcement to hold a referendum after the general election on changing to the Alternative Vote system, arguing that the public ought to decide which electoral system should be included in a referendum: “The AV syste...

For years, Unlock Democracy has campaigned to get big money out of politics. In particular we have been concerned about Michael Ashcroft’s increasing dominance within the Conservative Party. ...

Commenting on Gordon Brown’s announcement today that Labour’s election manifesto will pledge to hold a referendum on whether to change the system for electing the House of Commons to the Alternative Vote early in the next Parliament, Director of Unlock Democracy Peter Facey said: “Gordon Brown...