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N E W S
WHERE DO CANDIDATES STAND ON “DEAL-BREAKING” REFORM?
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May 2010
WHERE DO CANDIDATES STAND ON “DEAL-BREAKING”
REFORM?
With proportional representation set to be
the deal-breaker in the event of a hung parliament, voters are being urged to check where there candidates stand on this and
other reforms that might help to clean up politics.
The
election web initiative – DEMREF 2010 – is pressing general election candidates to openly declare their view on
the electoral system before polling day on Thursday.
DEMREF 2010 allows voters to compare candidates and their reform policies. The unique project was set up to hold
candidates to account following the scandal over politicians’ expenses and other revelations about party funding and
“cash for influence”.
As well as voting
reform, DEMREF 2010 asks candidates for their position on fixed-term parliaments, free voting, open primaries, the voting
age, recalling MPs and House of Lords reform.
DEMREF
2010 organiser Tony Samphier said: “Voters have a right to know where their candidates stand on whether or not the voting
system should be reformed. This is the defining question of this reform election, and parliamentary hopefuls cannot ignore
it.”
Ends.
Contact: Tony Samphier on 0208 761 8155
Notes to editors
DEMREF 2010
can be viewed at www.polinfluence.com
DEMREF 2010 covers
parliamentary constituencies in England only.
DEMREF
2010 is organised by POLinfluence – trading name of Tony Samphier Ltd.
N E W S
NEW ADS THROW
SPOTLIGHT ON REFORM POLICIES OF PARLIAMENTARY HOPEFULS
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April 2010
NEW ADS THROW SPOTLIGHT ON REFORM POLICIES OF PARLIAMENTARY
HOPEFULS
New adverts are urging voters to check the reform policies of their general election candidates following the scandal over
politicians’ expenses and other revelations about party funding, overseas trips and “cash for influence”
that dogged the last parliament.
The ads pose the question: “Are your candidates ready to spring-clean politics?” The image shows someone using
a cloth to scrub “expenses scandal” off a grimy window.
The ads are produced by the non-partisan election web initiative DEMREF
2010 which allows voters to scrutinize and compare the views of their candidates on issues such as changing the voting system,
lowering the voting age and recalling corrupt MPs.
“Clean up politics cloths” carrying the message “Are you ready to spring-clean politics?”
are being sent to candidates in marginal seats who have yet to take part in DEMREF 2010.
DEMREF 2010 organiser Tony Samphier said:“The very least voters deserve is for candidates to openly declare where they stand
on the big reforms that might help to restore public trust. What have they got to hide?”
Ends
Contact: Tony Samphier on 0208 761 8155
Notes to editors
J-pegs of the “expenses scandal” image
are available. The ads are available in pdf format.
DEMREF
2010 can be viewed at www.polinfluence.com/DEMREF2010.html
Voters concerned that
their candidates have not taken part in DEMREF 2010 should simply text (standard charge) the name of their constituency (no
other information required) to 07770 503610 and a reminder will be sent to the relevant candidates.
Candidates wishing to be featured on DEMREF 2010 should
email tony[dot]samphier[at]btinternet[dot]com
DEMREF 2010 asks candidates for their views on fixed-term parliaments, free voting, the electoral system, open
primaries, voting age, recalling MPs and House of Lords reform. Candidates can also add their own favoured reforms.
At this time, DEMREF 2010 covers
parliamentary constituencies in England only.
DEMREF 2010 is organised
by POLinfluence – trading name of Tony Samphier Ltd.
N E W S
TIME FOR CANDIDATES TO OPEN UP TO VOTERS FOLLOWING REFORM PLEDGES BY PARTY LEADERS
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April 2010
TIME FOR CANDIDATES TO OPEN UP TO VOTERS FOLLOWING REFORM PLEDGES BY PARTY LEADERS
The general election web initiative DEMREF 2010
has called on candidates to openly declare their views on reforming politics following recent policy announcements by Gordon
Brown and David Cameron.
DEMREF 2010 asks candidates where they stand on fixed-term parliaments, changing the electoral system, lowering the voting
age, House of Lords reform and recalling MPs – all issues raised by one or other of the party leaders in their recent
speeches on constitutional reform.
DEMREF 2010 allows voters to scrutinize and compare candidate reform policies following the expenses scandal and more recent
revelations over party funding, overseas trips and “cash for influence”.
Large numbers of candidates have posted their views on DEMREF 2010, but
in every constituency there are candidates who have failed to complete the short written interview that takes no longer than
five minutes.
To
take part in DEMREF 2010, candidates should email tony.samphier@btinternet.com
Voters concerned
that their candidates have not taken part in DEMREF 2010 should simply text (standard charge) the name of their constituency
(no other information required) to 07770 503610 and a reminder will be sent to the relevant candidates.
DEMREF 2010 organiser Tony Samphier
said: “Candidates need to prove to the voting public that they are
serious about reform. This is not a traditional campaign that aspiring elected representatives can ignore – it is an
exercise in openness, accountability and respect for voters.”
Ends.
Contact: Tony Samphier on 0208 761 8155
Notes
DEMREF 2010 can be viewed at www.polinfluence.com/DEMREF2010.html
DEMREF 2010 asks candidates
for their views on fixed-term parliaments, free voting, the electoral system, open primaries, voting age, recalling MPs and
House of Lords reform.
At this time, DEMREF 2010 covers parliamentary constituencies in England only.
DEMREF 2010 is organised by POLinfluence – trading
name of Tony Samphier Ltd.
N E W S
CANDIDATE CONSENSUS ON FIXED-TERM PARLIAMENTS AND OTHER REFORMS
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April 2010
CANDIDATE
CONSENSUS ON FIXED-TERM PARLIAMENTS AND OTHER REFORMS
Prospective parliamentary candidates are in strong agreement on the need
to introduce fixed-term parliaments, according to findings from the general election policy comparison web initiative DEMREF
2010.
To date,
the majority of candidates who have posted their views on the website favour fixed-terms, which would abolish the traditional
right of the Prime Minister to choose the general election date (71 per cent support fixed terms, eight per cent oppose, 21
per cent undecided).
This follows recent hints by senior Labour figures that the party may back this reform, as it did in its 1992 election manifesto.
Labour candidates seem to endorse
this approach, with more than 70 per cent of the party’s respondents supporting the introduction of fixed-terms.
Fixed-term parliaments are Liberal
Democrat policy and Conservative leader David Cameron also trailed the idea last year in the aftermath of the expenses scandal.
DEMREF 2010 organiser Tony Samphier
said: “It’s still early days, but there seems to be a cross-party consensus emerging that fixed-terms are the
way forward following the ‘election that never was’ in 2007. Public trust of politicians has hit rock bottom and
this is just one of the democratic reforms that might help to restore voter confidence.”
The website also shows almost unanimous backing from
candidates for greater use of free votes in parliament (91 per cent support) and finding a mechanism to recall MPs involved
in serious wrongdoing (96 per cent open to the idea).
Ends
Contact: Tony Samphier on 0208 761 8155
Notes to editors
These findings are based on the views of 291 respondents
up to 4 April 2010.
At present, DEMREF 2010 covers English parliamentary constituencies only.
DEMREF 2010 was set up in February this year to allow voters to go online
and scrutinise the views of candidates on reforming politics following the scandal over expenses.
DEMREF 2010 can be viewed at www.polinfluence.com/DEMREF2010.html
DEMREF 2010 is organised by POLinfluence – a trading name of Tony Samphier Ltd.
N E W S
ELECTION CANDIDATES OPEN UP TO VOTER SCRUTINY ON REFORMING POLITICS
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March 2010
ELECTION
CANDIDATES OPEN UP TO VOTER SCRUTINY ON REFORMING POLITICS
For the first time, voters can go to one website
to compare and contrast the views of their General Election candidates about reforming the political system following the
scandal over MP expenses.
The new non-party web initiative - DEMREF 2010 - brings together prospective parliamentary candidates to
give voters the opportunity to check where they stand on some of the big reforms that might help to restore public confidence.
DEMREF 2010 asks candidates for their
views on fixed-term parliaments, free voting, the electoral system, open primaries, voting age, recalling MPs and House of
Lords reform. Candidates can also add their own favoured reforms.
DEMREF 2010 is an easy-to-use, constituency-by-constituency online directory. Visitors
can view each candidate as a separate page in pdf format, making it simple to download candidate pages.
To date hundreds of candidates from
all parties have put themselves up for voter scrutiny by posting their views on DEMREF 2010 and the number of participating
candidates is increasing daily. But
DEMREF 2010 needs the vast majority of candidates to take part in order to meet its objective of helping to achieve greater
openness and accountability during the election campaign.
Candidates wishing to be featured on DEMREF 2010 should email tony.samphier@btinternet.com
or call 0208 761 8155.
Voters wishing to encourage their candidates to openly state their views on DEMREF 2010 should simply email the name
of their constituency to tony.samphier@btinternet.com and a reminder will be sent to the relevant candidates.
Ends.
Contact: Tony Samphier on 0208 761 8155
Notes to editors
DEMREF 2010 can be viewed at www.polinfluence.com/DEMREF2010.html
At this time, DEMREF 2010 covers parliamentary constituencies in England only.
DEMREF 2010 is organised by POLinfluence – trading name of Tony Samphier Ltd.
N E W S
NEW WEB INITIATIVE GIVES VOTERS THE CHANCE TO CHECK WHERE CANDIDATES STAND ON DEMOCRATIC REFORM FOLLOWING
EXPENSES SCANDAL
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February 2010
NEW WEB INITIATIVE GIVES VOTERS THE CHANCE TO CHECK WHERE CANDIDATES STAND ON DEMOCRATIC REFORM FOLLOWING EXPENSES SCANDAL
For
the first time, voters can go to one website to compare and contrast the views of their General Election candidates about
reforming the political system, which has been rocked by the crisis over MP’s expenses.
The new web initiative
- DEMREF 2010 - aims to become a comprehensive, constituency-by-constituency listing of where parliamentary candidates stand
on issues such as electoral reform, primaries for candidate selection and recalling wrongdoing MPs.
In particular, with an
unusually high number of MPs standing down, DEMREF 2010 will help to plug the information gap about new parliamentary hopefuls
whose outlook is largely unknown.
Already hundreds of candidates have contributed to DEMREF 2010 and organisers expect the majority
to add their views by the end of March, when the General Election campaign is in full swing. DEMREF 2010 is asking constituents
to help by requesting that their candidates take part.
DEMREF 2010 organiser Tony Samphier said:
“For
this election to be truly about policies not personalities, voters must be able to check and compare the views of their candidates
on how to clean up our discredited political system. After the damaging debacle over MP’s expenses, ordinary people
want to be sure that aspiring political representatives are serious about reform and not stuck in the past.”
Ends.
Contact: Tony on 0208 761 8155 or tony.samphier@btinternet.com
Notes to editors
DEMREF 2010 can be viewed at www.polinfluence.com/DEMREF2010.html
DEMREF 2010 asks candidates for their views on fixed-term parliaments, free
voting, the electoral system, open primaries, voting age, recalling MPs and House of Lords reform.
At this time, DEMREF 2010 covers parliamentary constituencies in England only.
DEMREF 2010 is organised by POLinfluence – trading
name of Tony Samphier Ltd.
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