Why we need a Fair Deal for Political Reform 

Our political system is broken. 

The voting system is unfair and power is too centralised. 

Meanwhile, Conservative cronyism, rule-breaking and sleaze has eroded trust in politics. From the disdain of Boris Johnson, to the recklessness of Liz Truss, the Conservatives have taken the British public for granted, and nothing has changed under Rishi Sunak. 

Our Fair Deal is about making politics work for everyone again by reforming politics to its core. 

A fair voting system 

First Past the Post leaves many people feeling powerless as their votes do not count. 

We will: 

✅ Introduce proportional representation for electing MPs and local councillors in England to ensure fairer representation and better accountability. 

✅ Scrap the Conservatives’ voter ID scheme to stop millions of people becoming disenfranchised. 

✅ Give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote. 

Restoring public trust in politics

Ministers should be held to the highest standards and our political system should be free from corruption and distortion by outside forces. 

We will: 

✅ Enshrine the Ministerial Code in legislation to hold Government Ministers to account for corruption and sleaze. 

✅ Take big money out of politics by capping donations to political parties at £10,000 a year. 

✅ Make it a national security priority to protect UK democracy from any threats or interference.

Power to the people

As liberals, we believe in empowering individuals because people know what works best for them. In turn, regions and local areas know what is best for their residents so they should have a greater say over their lives. 

We will: 

✅ Transfer greater powers away from Westminster and Whitehall to the nations and regions of our Union. 

✅ Introduce a written constitution for a federal United Kingdom, with a strong voice for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. We will ensure a strong union with Scotland by opposing both a second independence referendum and independence. 

✅ Enhance the powers of local government in England within this new federal settlement.

That’s the fair deal for political reform that we’ll be fighting for at the General Election.