According to the Labour Party website the Labour Party have achieved the following in their time in power:
Why Labour?
For Labour, democratic renewal is intended to forge a new relationship between government and citizen, so that Britain is better equipped to respond to the challenges that lie ahead. We want to create a society where power is held accountable and where individuals are able to maximise control over their own lives. That core objective is what has guided the substantial programme of constitutional change which we have undertaken since 1997 and will be entrenched in the vigorous reforms we are now undertaking to rebuild public trust and people’s faith in politics for the future.
Key Achievements
* Devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, an elected Mayor and Assembly for London and directly-elected mayors for those cities that want them.
* Modernised local government, introducing a clearer and more transparent decision making process, allowing local councillors to spend more time leading their community.
* Greater freedom for local authorities through additional resources and local public service agreements.
* Substantial reform of the House of Lords including the removal of the vast majority of hereditary peers, as the precursor to final, lasting reform of the second chamber.
* Increased rights for individual citizens through the Human Rights and Freedom of Information Acts.
Winning the fight for Britain’s future
These have been significant and radical reforms, but we must go further. We want to rebuild trust in politics, strengthen Parliament vis a vis the executive, and put more power in the hands of individual citizens so that they can influence the decisions which affect themselves, their families and local communities. .We will work with the British people to deliver a radical programme of democratic and constitutional reform. Our plans include:
* Measures to increase transparency and strengthen public accountability of members of the House of Commons including: an independent regulator for Parliamentary standards, a binding Code of Conduct for all MPs, reform of the system of MPs’ allowances, tougher rules for expenses claims and declaration of any additional income.
* Limiting, or surrendering to Parliament, prerogative powers previously held by the executive, including: the power to send troops to war; the way treaties are ratified; judicial appointments, parliamentary oversight of the intelligence services; the power to dissolve and recall Parliament; and to place the Civil Service on a statutory basis by enshrining its core values in law.
* Ensuring a fair say for all by devolving power away from the centre and to local people; giving councils more power to promote local democracy to increase citizen involvement and improve services by making them more responsive to local needs and ambitions.
* A green paper to examine the case for developing a Bill of Rights and Responsibilities.
* A dialogue with the British public about how we might develop and articulate an inclusive view of our shared values.
* Measures to strengthen disciplinary arrangements and increase accountability of members of the House of Lords, as well as broader reform, including completing the process of removing the hereditary principle. We will bring forward proposals for a smaller and democratically constituted second chamber.
* A new Supreme Court to create a highly visible symbol of judicial authority, one which is accessible to the public.
* Legislation to increase controls on unregulated local candidate election expenditure, to make political donations more transparent, and to increase voter registration.
* We established the Youth Citizenship Commission to consult on the case for lowering the voting age to 16, which Labour supports, and we are exploring other measures that would help involve young people more actively in society and politics.
Labour Party Democracy and Citizenship Policy :http://www.labour.org.uk/democracy_and_citizenship
I would be interested to hear both positive and negative views on Labour’s Democracy and Citizenship policies in the comments below?
