The Putney Debates 2018 - Powers to the Peoples: Electoral Reform and a Federal UK?

Since the EU Referendum, citizens and politicians from across the Union have sought in vain to reach a democratic consensus on the future direction of the United Kingdom. Government efforts to invoke so-called 'Henry VIII' prerogative powers – as well as the Republic and Northern Ireland's future relationship with the Union – have raised fundamental questions about the spirit and structure of our democratic settlement. And yet, it is not the first time that the UK has found itself questioning the foundations of its constitution. In the Autumn of 1647, England was emerging from Civil War and the king was in captivity. Government practically ceased, social and political chaos prevailed: no one knew how to proceed. In an event unprecedented in English history, officers of the New Model Army, jointly with a group of London radicals known as the Levellers, called a conference in Putney Church in South West London, to review constitutional principles and debate England’s political future. Faced with a equally historic moment of national introspection, we drew inspiration from the original Putney Debates to stage a new constitutional convention for modern-day Britain. Over 500 people took part in the Putney Debates 2017, and the resulting book, Constitution in Crisis: The New Putney Debates, has been seen by every MP and High Court judge in the land. Since that debate at the start of the year, much has changed. Recent developments – including government efforts to invoke prerogative powers, Anglo-Irish relations and the border question, and the impact of external interference and ‘fake news’ on democratically held elections and referendums – have raised fundamental questions about the spirit and structure of our democratic settlement. In a bid to arrive at answers to these latest constitutional challenges, the 2018 Debates will consider: (1) the case for a Federal United Kingdom, through which we might reach a new agreement of the peoples of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales; and (2) reform of the electoral system, in response to increasing threats to democracies posed by ‘fake news’, foreign interference, and efforts to disrupt the fairness of elections around the world. Join us as we revisit this landmark debate on the nature of the UK’s democratic settlement for the 21st Century.