John Strafford has held office at virtually every level in the voluntary part of the Conservative Party, including nine years on the former National Union Executive Committee.   In his newly-published book, Our Fight for Democracy – A History of Democracy in the United Kingdom, he analyses the weaknesses of British democracy today and suggests how [...]

Sworn at. Verbally abused in the high street. Treated with contempt on the door step.
In the current climate who’d be a politician? And before you accuse me of exaggeration I’ve experienced all this and more in the last few months. And I have never been elected. Or received a penny in expenses.
Meeting the public and [...]

Writing in Sunday’s Observer, Oona King has highlighted the lack of diversity that still exists in British Politics. Returning to Downing Street, as a lobbyist rather than an MP, King remarks that:
‘even though the PM and his advisers are extremely helpful and progressive, I can’t help noticing they’re all men.’
With so much written about change, Open Up is [...]

Last week we launched the Open Up campaign calling for open primaries in the UK. There’s been a huge reaction already with both offline and online media covering our campaign and encouraging the public to sign the petition. 
Here’s a snapshot of the buzz about the campaign so far…
For starters there was a really positive and [...]