On Saturday afternoon (16 May) over 150 people gathered to hear local MP Hugh Bayley, Dr Simon Parker and Professor the Baroness Haleh Afshar (from the University of York Politics Department), Liberal Democrat Councillor Christian Vassie, Green Councillor Dave Taylor, and a speaker from the University of York branch of People & Planet make the case for a reform of the electoral system and for the re-democratisation of parliament.York Central MP, Hugh Bayley declared himself to be a long term supporter of electoral reform and in particular of the alternative vote option. He criticised the new coalition government for proposing to change the rules so that government business could be carried on with only 45% o
f the votes of the House of Commons and urged constituents to lobby him and other newly returned MPs to ensure that the public are given an early opportunity to ditch first past the post.Dr Simon Parker told protesters that the battle for a democratic and
representative parliament which the Chartists launched nearly 200 years ago is still to be won, and the fact that Westminster now contained a lower proportion of female MPs than Rwanda was a scandal. Councillor Dave Taylor for the Greens called for a genuine choice of alternatives and pointed out that the two party monopoly crowded out policy alternatives that the public often prefer in a 'blind testing'. Christian Vassie, for the Liberal Democrats warned the audience that the right wing media would attempt to sabotage the fair votes movement in order to protect the exisiting system. It was therefore important to keep the fair votes campaign in the public eye and convince sceptics that it can lead to better as well as fairer government. Several attempts had been made to secure the attendance of the Conservative York Outer MP Julian Sturdy, but without success.The event was organised by first year PEP students Caleb Wooding, Ieuan Ferrer and Jamie Fisher and after an 'instant referendum' on preferred voting systems, a march took place through the centre of York where it returned to King's Square to hear Baroness Afshar urging supporters not to waste this opportunity of bringing about genuine political reform. She reminded the crowd that Britain was lucky that political change was still possible without having to pay for it in blood as the reformers in her native Iran have been forced to. Prof Afshar also declared herself to be in favour of a properly elected House of Lords - even though "it might do me out of a job!
" she joked.The York Take Back Parliament group is holding an organising meeting on Thursday 20 May in Space 109 on Walmgate from 7.30-9.30 pm to plan future activities and actions. All are welcome.
(Photos are from the Take Back Parliament Flickr pool. All credits are acknowledged and rights reserved)
