Lib Dems calls on Burnham to tackle “cronyism and corruption” in Westminster and overhaul Britain’s broken political system

Ed Davey has warned Andy Burnham “you can’t fix the country without fixing our broken politics”. He has called for a new Commission to restore British democracy, which tackles systems of cronyism and corruption, makes politicians more accountable, gets big money out of politics and breaks the power of social media giants.

The Lib Dem leader has this morning backed a rebel backbench Labour amendment signed by over 100 Labour MPs, which would deliver a new fairer voting system.

In his letter, Ed Davey has called for the Prime Minister to establish a commission to renew British democracy, with recommendations implemented before the next election - including a new voting system and constitution.

It would also introduce a donation cap, alongside new tools and powers to tackle corruption and criminal behaviour in Westminster. The party has called for a dedicated “Westminster Crime Unit” and an end to the “political crime” loophole. This loophole sees corrupt politicians evade proper investigation because the potential sentences are too low for the full range of powers to be used by law enforcement.

This would go hand in hand with a crackdown on foreign interference, including social media and tech barons like Elon Musk, who Davey accuses of “hating our democracy and promoting racial, religious and ethnic hatred”.

The Liberal Democrat leader has reminded Burnham of his previous commitments to reform including that “every person and every place will only be equal when every vote is equal. Under the present system, some people and places are more equal than others”.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“I speak to people all the time who tell me just a few years ago things felt a lot easier. They had more money, when they became sick they knew they’d be cared for, they felt safe. But now people really do feel like Britain is broken.

“We need new tools to end the corruption and criminal behaviour we see, and to get big money out of politics. We need to end foreign interference which has become like a virus in Westminster. We need to make our communities much more powerful and we need to change an electoral system that keeps in power many of the people who cause the most damage.

“From the big banks in 2008 to water company bosses today, it feels like the already powerful never get held to account while ordinary people are frozen out.

“Andy Burnham says he knows all of this. If he doesn’t do something about it he will fail like all the other Prime Ministers before him.”

Tom said:

 

“We need to clear out the rot in the system before it's too late. People have felt powerless for too long.

“Our communities need to feel empowered, with a fair voting system and the tools to hold the powerful to account.”

“Our democracy has been subject to foreign interference, with the likes Elon Musk inciting racial, religious and ethnic hatred. It’s an affront to our British, democratic values.”