Dear John
The slime of sleaze sticks to everything.
I’m sure you’ve noticed the sheer
volume of headlines focusing on government sleaze scandals. The fact
so many of these politicians have been able to get away with this is
proof we have a broken electoral system, propping up a faltering
democracy in the hands of this government.
At Best for Britain, we recently
conducted research, exploring how our electoral system
rewards complacency. I hope you will use the template below to make
your views heard in your local paper.
Analysing the MP’s second jobs
scandal, we found 87% of MPs with second jobs represent
seats where they have a majority greater than 3000. Of the nine MPs who have second jobs that
pay them more than their MP’s salary, seven have
majorities greater than 17,000.
Sleaze is not just sleaze. It’s a
clear symptom of a much greater fault in our political system. When
these MPs don’t feel the pressure, when they don’t think their
constituents will vote them out, they feel free to take
advantage.
The Government isn’t content with
this corruption - it is actively dismantling the systems of checks and
balances intended to hold them to account.
From the Elections
Bill which will bias the
independent regulator of elections, to the Police,
Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which will clamp down on our right to protest, we are all in
the precarious position of seeing democracy erased before our very
eyes.
And what will we do when it is
taken away from us?
While we still can, it is important
that we raise our voices and hold this Government to account for its
insidious attempts to rig the system in its favour.
Will you write to the editor of
your local paper today with our template letter to make sure we’re
keeping the pressure on this Government? By writing, you will be
increasing public awareness of this Government’s anti-democratic
agenda and putting pressure on the Government to alter its
policy-making.
Will you write? See our template
letter below:
Dear
I am extremely concerned by the
MP sleaze scandals of recent weeks. I simply don’t believe these
issues exist in a bubble.
When politicians openly and
knowingly fail their constituents, this is a symptom of something far
more rotten at the heart of our political system. I’ve been following
Best for Britain’s work on the Government’s anti-democratic agenda.
Several bills are passing through parliament at the moment which
threaten to undermine our democracy.
The Elections Bill will remove
the independence of the Electoral Commission and undermine its ability
to monitor elections. Other bills, such as the Police, Crime,
Sentencing and Courts Bill and the Judicial Review and Courts Bill all
take power out of the hands of ordinary people and our democratic
institutions and concentrate it in the hands of the
Government.
The fact that this Government
is so happy to take liberties with public trust is, I fear, a sad sign
that this Government is already preparing for a future where it cannot
be held accountable.
Best wishes,
Best wishes,
Naomi Smith
CEO - Best for Britain
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