London, Feb 5, IRNA – British Muslims are being urged to back a campaign for democratic renewal launched by POWER2010 ahead of the UK’s forthcoming general election.
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said it was urging everyone to vote to strengthen local democracy and “fix the disconnect between parties and the voters.”
“British Democracy is clearly in difficulties. For too long political power in this country has been locked away in the hands of a small number of people at the centre,” the MCB said.
POWER2010 is a grassroots initiative designed to redistribute power, warning that the country’s democracy is in crisis and that people’s rights are being taken away.
The initiative, which stems from the Charter88 movement, is seeking to challenge all parliamentary candidates standing in the forthcoming elections to sign a pledge of reform to which they will be held accountable after they enter office.
The MCB’s Public Affairs Committee is calling for stronger local government and the introduction of the right of constituents to call a referendum on their MP’s mandate to be included in the pledge, IRNA has learned.
“It’s time to put local communities back in the driving seat, giving their representatives the power to stand up for their interests and giving communities the power to make sure they do so,” the committee said.
POWER2010 is seeking to include the five most popular reforms voted for in the pledge to bring real democratic changes following the elections that are expected to be held in May.
The leading reforms supported so far include the introduction of proportionate representation, scrapping government plans for ID card and rolling back Britain being a ‘database state,’ the drawing up of a written constitution, fixed term parliaments and stronger local government.
Voters are being given until February 22 to finalise the list that will be included as the backbone of the campaign for change at the elections.