Political reform

That this House acknowledges the perception amongst many people in Britain that key decision making structures are dominated by an unrepresentative social group whose concerns often fail to understand the wishes of British working people; understands that we need to renew our democracy as a result of the growing alienation in many communities from Westminster’s political processes; recognises that Britain is one of the most centralised countries in Europe; thinks that democratic renewal must ensure our political institutions are fully connected to the electorate and that we urgently need a new deal for our regions and nations to decentralise decision-making and strengthen local democracy; believes the hereditary principle in the House of Lords should be ended and the House of Lords should be abolished in favour of an elected Senate of the Nations and Regions; further believes there should be a ban on paid second jobs for MPs; believes that we need more elected representatives drawn from a wider social milieu, and especially regrets the decline in working class representation as well as that of other disadvantaged groups; further understands that democratic renewal requires legitimacy and therefore believes we ought to consider establishing a UK-wide constitutional convention to examine how power is distributed in the UK today; and, finally, insists that the intrusive and damaging role of private sources of big money is eliminated from our political system.