unlock democracy annual report 2013

7/27/2019 Unlock Democracy Annual Report 2013

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Unlock Democracy Annual Report 2012/13

D

e m o c r a c y

U n l o c k



Foreword

Staff Membership

Campaigns

Open Up Lobbying

Elect the Lords

Party Funding

Freedom of Information

Parliamentary Work

Local Activism

Vote Match

Local Works

Coalition Work

Finance

Council / Membership Board / Rodell Volunteers

Looking Forward

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Unlock Democracy37 Gray’s Inn Rd,LondonWC1X 8PQ

Tel: 020 7278 4443Web: www.unlockdemocracy.org.ukEmail: [email protected]

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This year has demonstrated that no matter how much somepoliticians would like to abandon the democratic reform agenda, it

isn’t going anywhere. They tried to sideline lobbying transparencyonly to be caught up in the Patrick Mercer scandal. They droppedproposals for House of Lords reform only to be rocked byallegations of cronyism and sleaze as yet more party donors wereappointed to the legislature.

As such, although this year has often been highly frustrating,we can take heart from the fact that the need for political

reform simply will not go away. It is our task to transform publicdissatisfaction into positive action for reform.

As we move forward, Unlock Democracy has taken a hard look atour resources and restructured our staff team to make sure we arean effective and sustainable campaigning force. It’s been tough,but has left us in a much stronger position than we were in before.

If 2013 has been about consolidating our position, 2014 will beprimarily about gearing up for the general election. I hope you will join us in campaigning to ensure that democratic reform remainson the radar of politicians from across the political spectrum.

Foreword

Alexandra Runswick,

Unlock Democracy’s Director



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Staff

Alexandra Runswick Director

Campaigns & Research Team

Emily Randall Senior Campaigner

John Franglen Membership and Fundraising Ofcer

Matthew Oliver Vote March National Co-ordinator

Steve Shaw Local Works National Co-ordinator

Ameneh Enayat Local Works Outreach Specialist Zoe Stavri Local Works Campaigns Assistant

Dan Flanagan Unlock Democracy Grants Ofcer & Local Works Projects Ofcer

Ofce Support Team

Osman Mustafa Finance Ofcer

Margaret Mathews Finance Ofcer

Simon Howard Ofce Manager

We will appoint a new Policy and Research Ofcer in Autumn 2013.



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Peter Facey, our founding director, stood down as director in June. Peter hasworked in the UK democratic reform sector since 1995, developing expertisein democracy, human rights and participation. He was appointed the directorof the New Politics Network in 2001 and the director of Charter 88 in 2005,and oversaw the merger of the organisation which lead to the establishment ofUnlock Democracy. Since leaving Unlock Democracy he has moved with hisfamily to Perth in Australia.

Sadly Peter is not the only colleague we have said goodbye to during the lastyear. Our Campaigns and Communications Manager, James Graham,left at the start of September, having opted for redundancy as a part of ourrestructuring process. James has been with Unlock Democracy since it was

founded in 2007 and worked for three years for the New Politics Networkbefore then.

Finally, in December 2012 our Research Assistant Jon Narcross also left theorganisation. After spending some time in Canada, he is now back in London.

Thank you and good bye to Peter, James & Jon



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Membership

Unlock Democracy is owned and governed by its members, as well as being dependent on themfor both nancial support and activism. Members can participate in our Annual General Meetings

and vote and stand in our Council elections (which are held every two years). Members also have

the right to petition our Council on a matter of concern, and to receive a reply. We currently haveapproximately 4,800 members.

In October 2012, we ran a successful phone campaign, which increased the number of long-termdonors as well as persuading some of our online supporters to donate and join the organisation.We have also had some notable success in persuading past members to renew their membershipsthis year, some stretching all the way back to Charter 88 days.

As always, one of our priorities is to encourage supporters to make regular donations throughdirect debit and online. This signicantly reduces the amount of staff time that needs to be spent

on processing and enables us to plan and budget much more effectively. We have also invested innew online fundraising tools this year, which, in the future, should simplify this important task forboth staff and members.



8 From our Twelve Scandals of Christmas campaign in December 2012. Artwork by Tom Crowley



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With the political focus switching towards gearing up to the 2015 general election, our campaigningactivity this year has mainly been about continuing existing campaigns and maintaining our prole.

Persuading governments to do things at this point in the parliamentary cycle is always a challengeand the current coalition has proven to be no exception. Our main policy focus this year has beenon getting the government to keep its promise to introduce a statutory lobbying register. We’ve also

highlighted a number of other issues including House of Lords reform, freedom of information, holdingMEPs to account and electoral reform.

We have managed to maintain a strong media presence, despite our limited resources, and build ahigh social media prole by adopting a proactive online strategy based on highlighting topical news

and graphics which make the case for reform.

We’ve maintained a strong reputation within parliament and attempt to contribute to parliamentaryand government consultations wherever possible. In the past 12 months we have presented oralevidence to parliamentary select committees on ve separate occasions.

Finally, we’ve continued to develop our local groups, organising a national activists’ conference inFebruary and beginning quarterly activists’ “meetups” around the country.

Campaigns



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Open Up Lobbying

A founding member of the Alliance for Lobbying

Transparency, Unlock Democracy campaigns for theintroduction of a robust statutory register of lobbyingactivities.

After the government failed to announce the legislationfor a lobbying register in the Queen’s Speech, a stringof media investigations enabled us to play a key role inforcing them to reverse this decision. The government

published a bill in July.

At the time of writing, Unlock Democracy’s focus ison improving this legislation as much as possible andstrengthening our alliances within Parliament.

Open Up Lobby i ng



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Building support for a statutoryregister

• When news of the BBC Panorama investigation intolobbying surfaced, we blitzed the media. We wereinterviewed by all UK TV news networks and dozensof local radio stations, and were quoted in all nationalnewspapers.

• With Spinwatch, we published our own draft lobbyingbill to illustrate how a statutory register should work.This was sent to MPs in advance of the publication ofthe government’s bill.

• We hosted a public meeting in the House ofCommons with shadow Cabinet Ofce minister Jon

Trickett.

• Organised a mass letter writing campaign to MPsto express concerns about the weakness of thegovernment’s proposals.



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Unlock Democracy continues to campaign fora democratic second chamber with a minimumof 80% elected via a system of proportionalrepresentation. The debate over the government’sbill last year proved that a clear majority of MPssupport reform, even if party politics preventedthe legislation from progressing any further.

Our mission is now to raise the issue in the eyesof the public, and to ensure that the partiescommit themselves to House of Lords reform intheir 2015 manifestos. The underlying problemswith the existing House of Lords are set to getworse as the second chamber continues to growexponentially. Over the next few years it willbecome increasingly clear that maintaining the

status quo is no longer an option.

Elect the Lords



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Building the case for reform:

• Adopted a proactive social media strategy toraise awareness about the need for reform byhighlighting problematic appointments to theHouse of Lords, its unsustainable growth and

marking key dates.

• Contributed to Labour and Liberal Democratpolicy development processes, includingestablishing a working group with theElectoral Reform Society, the Campaign fora Democratic Upper House and Make VotesCount to better coordinate our activities.

• Sought to link Lords reform with the need totake big money out of politics by highlightingthe number of professional lobbyists and richparty donors in the House of Lords.



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We have continued to make the case for party funding reform and theneed to remove “big money” inuence from our politics. We campaign

for an annual cap on donations to parties and incentives to encourage

parties to better engage with the public:

• Maintained our reputation amongst journalists as the leadingorganisation with expertise on party funding.

• Published research highlighting the lack of transparency of theLabour-union link and the need to better inform union membersabout their afliation to the party.

• Mobilised supporters to participate in the “Funding Democracy”process - a cross-party initiative to develop practical legislation onparty funding reform.

Party Funding



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Unlock Democracy campaigns for open and transparent government. Thisyear we joined forces with the Campaign for Freedom of Information todefend the right to access information via the Freedom of Information Act.

The government announced plans this year to restrict the ability of peopleto exercise their right to know, ostensibly to prevent a minority from “placingdisproportionate burdens on public authorities” by making “industrial” useof the Act. The effect of these new proposals would be to make it far harderto get information out of the government, especially for local and specialist journalists.

We organised a letter writing campaign to MPs to build up opposition to thegovernment proposals and will continue to monitor their attempts to bringthese proposals forward.

Freedom of Information



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Parliamentary Work

Unlock Democracy is recognised as a leading expert in the eld of democracy and parliamentary

reform.

A primary goal of all our campaigns is to change and implement legislation to strengthen democracyin the UK. We do this by building support for our broad policy agenda in parliament. We work withindividual MPs, host public meetings in parliament, and give evidence to select committees.

Unlock Democracy gave evidence to the following select committees in 2012/13:

• Political and Constitutional Reform Committee- inquiry into the government’s lobbying bill- “House of Lords reform what next?” inquiry- consultation on proposed Independent Local Government Code- “Revisiting Rebuilding the House: the impact of the Wright reforms” inquiry- “Codifying – or not codifying – the UK constitution” inquiry

• Standards and Privileges Committee- inquiry into All-Party Groups

• Committee on Standards in Public Life- inquiry into lobbying

• Communities and Local Government Committee- post legislative review of the Sustainable Communities Act



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We also worked with Neil Findlay MSP on his privatemembers bill for a lobbying register for the ScottishParliament, including submitting evidence to theconsultation.

Public meetings in Parliament

Unlock Democracy has held two very well attended andlively public meetings in Westminster in the last year.

• June 2013 - Open up Lobbying in Parliament withJon Trickett MP, Tamasin Cave (Spinwatch) and Peter

Facey (Unlock Democracy)

• July 2013 - “Labour - Defending Rights, DeliveringPolitical Reform” with Sadiq Khan MP, StephenBowen (BIHR) and Alexandra Runswick (UnlockDemocracy)

We also held a meeting as part of the consultation on a

lobbying register for Holyrood:

• October 2012 - Open Up Lobbying Edinburgh withNeil Findlay MSP, Will Dinan (Spinwatch), Peter Facey(Unlock Democracy) and Willie Sullivan (ElectoralReform Society)

Vince Cable MP

speaking at Unlock

Democracy AGM 2012

Sadiq Khan MP

speaking at our

public meeting in

parliament



18 Activists at Grassroots Democracy Conference 2013



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Local Activism

This year we have continued to nurture local activism with more and more new groups andactivists now campaigning locally. At our 2012 AGM our members asked for more supportfor local groups. Since then we have:

• Introduced a new, more exible model for afliating local groups and groups who share

our goals.

• In February 2013 we hosted the rst Grassroots Democracy Conference in Birmingham

with the Electoral Reform Society and Make Votes Count. A truly inspiring day withover 100 activists attending from across the country.

• We launched Grassroots Democracy meetup - a quarterly gathering for local groupsto network and nd out more about how to campaign with us. So far we have hosted

meet ups in London and Leicester, with a third planned for October in Liverpool.

• In September 2013 we built the student section on the website and are now activelyworking to support student groups.

Our goal is to build a network of activists and local groups campaigning for democraticreform. If you are interested in starting something in your area or student union, please getin touch with Emily Randall on [email protected] or 020 7278 4443.



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Vote Match is an online quiz run by Unlock Democracy which gives you a

match to the candidate that best represents your views in an election. In thelast year we have continued to develop Vote Match.

• In Autumn 2012 we delivered a US Presidential version of Vote Matchsponsored by the Daily Telegraph.

• Throughout 2012 / 2013 we have been working on a common EU VoteMatch for the 2014 European elections with our EU partners. This hasinvolved trips to Berlin, Warsaw and our hosting of a conference here inLondon.

• In May 2013, in conjunction with the Oxford Internet Institute, we ran ascientic experiment in the Oxfordshire local elections, funded by the

Nominet Trust, to see if Vote Match helped improve turnout.

• We are now planning ahead for the general election in 2015. We have setthe ambitious target of between 3-5 million people using Vote Match.

If you have any questions about Vote Match please contact projectcoordinator Matthew Oliver on [email protected] or020 7278 4443.

Vote Match

VoteMatch.org.uk



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Underrepresented groups and

the Sustainable Communities Act:

A best practice guide for councils

Campaigning to Implement the Sustainable Communites Act



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Unlock Democracy is committed to buildingconstructive relationships with organisations whoshare our goals. To this aim, we play a leading role inthe following coalitions:

Counting Women in

We are one the founding members of a coalition setup by ve leading organisations campaigning for

democracy and women’s rights. The campaign isaiming for 50/50 gender representation at all levels ofnational, local and devolved government.

Coalition Work



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Alliance for Lobbying Transparency

An alliance of civil society groups who are concerned about the growinginuence of lobbying on decision-making in the UK. It was launched in 2008,

to coincide with a Parliamentary inquiry into lobbying.

Local Works Coalition

We are the founding member of the Local Works Coalition that supports theSustainable Communities Act.

Democracy MattersDemocracy Matters brings together a wide range of civil society andcommunity groups to campaign to get more support for learning how tocampaign and act in politics, so that anyone who wants to change thingscan learn how the system works, who to inuence and how to campaign

effectively.

Human Rights AllianceWe are members of an NGO network that brings together over 100 membersto share information, build capacity and condence, and, where appropriate,

to undertake joint initiatives aimed at ensuring respect for the human rightsframework in the UK.

Alliance for

LOBBYINGTRANSPARENCY

ALT



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Legacies

Commercial income

Grants

Individual contributions

Finance

Although our income fell in 2012 / 2013, once again the generosityof our members proved to be unagging. Our largest single type of

income was individual contributions. We raised just under 40% ofour income this way in the 2012 / 2013 nancial year. Our remaining

income came from grants (35%); commercial income, includingRodell Properties Ltd (20% ); and legacies (5%).

40%

35%

20%

5%



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Grants

In the 2012 / 2013 nancial year we gratefully received almost £150,000 in grant income. So far this

current year we have been awarded new grants totalling £20,000. For their kind support of our work,

we thank the City Bridge Trust, the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, the EU’s Grundtvig programme, the

James Madison Trust, the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust andthe Milleld House Foundation.

Legacies

We continue to be generously supported by members who left us a legacy in their will and received

£20,000 in legacies in 2012 / 2013. Should you wish for more information concerning legacies thenplease contact our ofce.

Expenditure

We spent approximately £524,000 in 2012 / 2013. Chantrey Vellacott will be issuing their independent

assurance report on our accounts, which will be available from November 2013. We have also

restructured the organisation to ensure that we are on a rm nancial footing going forward.

We extend once again our sincere thanks for this year’s vital contributions to our ght for a fairer

democracy, and whatever the size of donation we received we are most grateful for all the supportyou gave us.

Council Management Board and Rodell



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The council is one of the key links betweenUnlock Democracy and its membership,keeping us in touch with what’s important toour members by setting the organisation’s

priorities. The management board,comprising of a subset of council members,focuses on the nance and administration of

the organisation.

Unlock Democracy’s current council wereelected in 2012, in an election with morecandidates than we’ve ever had before.

We’re hoping our 2013 AGM and 2014elections will continue this trend of greatermember engagement in our internaldemocracy.

Rodell Properties Ltd (Rodell) is a whollyowned subsidiary of Unlock Democracy. Itmanages two properties in Central London,the prots from which help fund UnlockDemocracy’s campaigns and activities. Itsboard is comprised of 4 directly electedmembers and 3 members appointed byUnlock Democracy’s management board.

Council, Management Board and RodellCouncilVicky Seddon (Chair)

Phil Starr (Vice Chair Rodell)

Stuart Weir (Vice Chair Policy)

Rosemary Bechler Andrew BlickLiz CarltonChris Carrigan

Management BoardVicky Seddon (Chair)

Phil Starr (Vice Chair Rodell)Stuart Weir (Vice Chair Policy)

Andrew Blick (June 2013—Present)

Stephen Carter (June 2013—Present)

Stuart Hill (May 2012—June 2013)

Directly elected:Rosemary BechlerChris CarriganStephen Carter (May 2012—

June 2013)

Alan Debenham(One directly elected seatstands open at this time)

Appointed by management board:Stephen Carter (June 2013—

Present)

Stuart Hill (May 2012—June 2013)

Vicky SeddonPhil Starr

Peter Hirst

Finola Kelly (May 2012— June 2013)

Mary SouthcottDanny Zinkus-Sutton

Stephen Carter Alan DebenhamEithne George

Stuart HillPeter HirstFinola KellySusan Murray

Owais RajputMary SouthcottJohn Strafford

Diana WallisDanny Zinkus-Sutton

Rodell Properties Ltd

V l t



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Unlock Democracy thrives with the support of our volunteers and thisyear was no exception. Our volunteers add enormous value to ourwork and campaigns. As a small organisation, volunteers enable us to

punch way above our weight.

Our aim is to ensure that everyone who volunteers with us gets avaluable experience. Always looking for ways we can improve, thisyear we assessed how we recruit and work with volunteers. Now ourvolunteers get to work with both our campaigns and research teamsrather than volunteering with one team. As a result we’re giving thema wider range of experiences and more opportunities to develop their

skills and interests.

A big thank you to everyone who has volunteered with us this year.

Volunteers

Andrew GeorgiouBen MeggitCal RaeChloe MingayCourtney RunningsDavid NewsomeDebbie ChayEdward ThackerJessica DentonJessie PowellJoe WrightKevin BlachfordLiam UpsonLizi Greenhill

Maddy HayesMatt DolmanMegan ShermanMichelle SpringerMiriam BurkePatrick PinkertonPaula PortasSelina Mayer(photographer)Shirin ZaidSophie HendersonStephen KirkwoodTim WilliamsVicky Fobel



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Looking forward

UK politics is in an unusual transition period, as for the rst time we know when the next general

election is supposed to be held. We can therefore focus more of our resources on our campaignto deliver change in 2015 and beyond.

Before we reach that point however, we will also have to contend with the European Electionsand Scottish independence referendum in 2014. We intend to make a positive contribution interms of helping to inform the public for both polls, building on our experience with Vote Match,

our award-winning online voting advice application.

Finally, 2015 is also the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta, in which King Johnwas forced to guarantee certain rights and freedoms. It is tting that we celebrate this important

moment in our history but we must not lose sight of how far we still have to go.

The Magna Carta was the start of a process of constitutional reform and not a destination. Whileothers will want to wrap themselves up in self-congratulation, Unlock Democracy’s mission in

the run up to this important anniversary must be to use it to reignite the spark of reform.

What would a 21st century “Magna Carta” look like? In 2014 we want to start that debate.

Ab t U l k D



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Unlock Democracy37 Gray’s Inn Rd,LondonWC1X 8PQTel: 020 7278 4443 | Web: www.unlockdemocracy.org.uk | Email: [email protected]

About Unlock Democracy

Unlock Democracy is the UK’s leading campaign fordemocratic reform. Established in 2007 following the mergerof Charter 88 and the New Politics Network, we argue andcampaign for a vibrant, inclusive democracy that puts powerin the hands of the people.

This report covers the period from September 2012 toSeptember 2013.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial 2.0 license. To view a copy of

this license, visitwww.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk

This annual report is published by Unlock Democracy, a notfor prot company limited by guarantee, number 2440889.

unlock democracy annual report 2013

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