Taking democratic reform beyond electoral reform
Next week we'll go to polls to vote for councillors, AMs, MSPs and a new voting system for Westminster. Then we'll all go back to our lives and forget about…
How Personal Autonomy can Win Freedom Back for Progressives
This election has been characterised by a remarkable focus on the personalities of party leaders, on the UK coalition and by little focus on the powers of the Scottish Parliament.…
AV Referendum: Tories Abuse History. Will History Abuse the Tories?
Britain has not always had a first-past-the-post system, and voters usually had multiple votes. Any claims that AV runs against the history of Parliament or British voting is as misleading…
Abolish tactical voting, make elections about ideas
AV is no one's perfect system. But it does, as far as I'm concerned, have a significant advantage over First Past the Post. There is no point in voting tactically…
Greens Set the Agenda for Scottish Coalition Government
The Scottish Greens today set out their ‘red lines’ for any coalition. These lines are policies that the party won’t cross to enter government. it's almost certain the next Scottish…
Bring it: on violence, vandalism, and March 26
This piece first appeared on The Topsoil My politics have changed radically over the last year. This time last year I was hostile to anarchism, now I’d be more comfortable…
Small parties, but not extremists, benefit from AV
A guest post by Rupert Read. As a Green Party activist, I am passionate about changing our world for the better, and changing it soon. That’s the first reason why…
Countering Council Cuts: Local Alternatives to Austerity
This post was first published 3 weeks ago, but we've decided to re-post as a response to this controversial piece on Liberal Conspiracy. Photo courtesy of Guardian Edinburgh via flickr…
Egypt: we can’t predict, so let’s dream
By Ben Young - a writer and campaigner living in York Last month, Palestine campaigners in York held a sombre discussion about what 2011 might hold for the Middle East.…
Time to stop recognising Mubarak
What is a president? At what point does someone stop being the president? These are complex questions. Who the UK government recognises as the legitimate president of a country is…