Readers of Bylines encompass a myriad of political persuasions, shapes and colours, but one thing that unites all of us is a fundamental belief in liberal democracy. But right now we can see it collapsing at a terrifying pace in front of our eyes. In 2016 we were shocked at Brexit and Trump (not least the Russian interference that has never been properly investigated), and we felt our democratic future was in the balance. I for one naïvely believed that the moment would surely be a lesson for us and we would not make the same electoral mistakes again. I was wrong – it was only the beginning.
Let us look at the specific context in the UK and our current problems. Who can blame Starmer if he can barely comprehend what has hit him? In July (a lifetime ago) he won one of the most decisive parliamentary majorities ever. At that point, Reform seemed to threaten only the Conservatives, but now they are breathing down the necks of hundreds of fearful Labour MPs and have the largest share of the popular vote in some polls. Across the Atlantic, Elon Musk taunts and threatens that he will pump his money into the far right in the UK. His falling out with Farage is a temporary reprieve, but it is surely only a matter of when (not if) he directly interferes in the UK.
To top it all our UK government is painfully finding out that restoring sensible politics, having long-term plans to reform our services, and just not being the Conservatives, is no longer enough. The promise was growth, but for myriad reasons this is not happening. Starmer stands for rules, law and order, but the world has left him behind, and is now controlled by people who delight in breaking rules, saying the outrageous and picking sides.
We can strengthen democracy right now
However, there is one thing our UK government could do right now to fight back. It is radical, and it costs nothing. It does not even require a political leap for Starmer – most of it was in his 2024 manifesto and the plans of former PM Gordon Brown.
As the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) points out, in the 2024 General Election our real turnout was one of the lowest since the introduction of universal suffrage. There is something seriously wrong with democracy if there is such a low turnout at a time of so much need. People evidently feel their voice is not being heard.
First of all, we must tackle head-on the unprecedented and corrosive money and online propaganda flowing into politics. In the US Elon Musk has openly distorted democracy by buying victory and then placing himself at the centre of government. Democracy is meaningless if it can be captured by an unelected individual. Musk is now doing to the US government what he did to Twitter – dismantling it at breathtaking pace. It gives a literal meaning to Facebook’s former motto ‘Move Fast and Break Things’.
An essential step is to radically strengthen the powers of the electoral commission and strictly limit individual donations and malign influence from overseas. Some of the best detectives and investigators who work on organised crime should be moved to work on protecting democracy. After all, a stolen election is the most consequential crime for all of us.
What more can we do?
The next step must be to reverse voter ID. There is already research evidence showing that it is unnecessary and detrimental. It is simply a backhand way to control the franchise and to put one more hurdle in the way of vulnerable groups. As the Electoral Reform Society state, it has limited the franchise and will cost millions of pounds for no gain in any respect.
The 2024 Labour manifesto made a significant and overdue promise to give 16 year olds the vote, as Scotland and Wales have already done. You may have seen recent scare headlines inspired by a poll suggesting that 16-year-olds are tempted by populism, but these results are disputed and this should not stop us from acting. First, if we believe in democracy, by its nature we cannot pick and choose who to give the vote to. Second, the hard facts are that young voters have been much more progressive in the recent past than older voters. In the UK, if 16-year-olds had had the vote we would probably still be in Europe, Corbyn would have replaced May and Johnson would still be a chat show host.
Voting must be automatic by default, just like pension enrolment. As the Brennan Centre for Justice argues, it is time we moved away from placing the emphasis to register on the individual, and we must realise that, if we want greater participation, we should make registration automatic like Germany, Canada, South Korea and the Scandinavian nations and others. The only objection comes from those who want to limit turnout and place a barrier to voting.
Votes should be given to all residents with permanent leave to remain. At the moment we have the bizarre situation that millions of our doctors, nurses and essential workers do not have a say in how the country is governed. True democracy cannot be exclusive, but must include everyone who contributes to the country on a permanent basis.
Together the above measures would boost the electorate by millions and would not cost a penny. The measures would give democracy a shot in the arm. In these fast-moving days of action, it would prove that liberal democracy can be just as decisive as the far right.
Just the start
The above reforms should be just the start. We must set up a commission to seriously examine our electoral system and create a legitimate second chamber. Complexity and disagreement is no excuse for not tackling a vital subject, and we must finally commit to creating a proper democracy for the 21st century.
Despite all our current political problems, we must not forget that our government does have the benefit of an extraordinary 174 seat majority. So, if there is the will, there is a way to reform. There is nothing more fundamental than democracy itself. Let us begin to reform the UK by strengthening our democracy and enfranchising millions of people who deserve the vote. Only then can we begin to stand up against the tidal wave of the far right.
