FAITH in British democracy is at a 15-year low. Is anyone surprised?
 
Nearly three-quarters of people think our political system needs radical change, and the same amount say the main political parties are so divided within themselves that they cannot serve the best interest of the country, according to the latest analysis by the Hansard Society.
 
This lack of faith in those who rule the country has led 54 per cent of people to think what we need is a strong leader “willing to break the rules” — a worrying sign that when trust is so low people can turn to dangerous solutions.
 
These figures suggest we are heading for a democratic crisis.
 
That can go one of two ways. Without us presenting alternatives, things could turn dark indeed.
 
The sense of democratic despair is not surprising. The political system has been for the few, and by the few — resulting in a broken politics where the views and concerns of everyday people are ignored, and decisions are made for the already privileged. 

No wonder, when the Electoral Reform Society estimates 68 per cent of votes were effectively thrown away in the 2017 general election — failing to affect the MP result.  
 
One thing united many people on both sides of the Brexit debate: a feeling of powerlessness. That is what our movement was set up to counter. What if we were to turn our sights towards fixing the decrepit machine of Parliament?
 
There is no clearer symbol of the broken system than the “unelected elite” we have close to home: the House of Lords.
 
Nearly 800 Lords make up this taxpayer-funded private members’ club — including over 90 hereditary aristocrats. 

Each one is able to claim £305 a day tax-free, to vote on our laws for life. They can delay legislation, change laws and use our Parliament as their personal palace.
 
Just last month we saw, yet again, these unelected aristocrats, block Labour attempts to phase out the role of hereditary peers in the house.
 
Free from the scrutiny of the ballot box, we have seen Lords frequently stand against public opinion and blocking reform.
 
As trade unionists our movement needs to send a clear message that we stand at the front of the fight for democracy — and for taking power away from the privileged few. Real democracy means public control not only of economics but of politics, too.