Call for direct democracy and voting overhaul

A far-reaching investigation into British democracy has called for citizens to be given powers to make and change laws and a radical new funding system for parties.

Parliament and local government should also have more powers, the study concludes.

The recommendations have been put forward by the Power inquiry, an independent review set up by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, in a bid to harness the kind of mass interest inspired by single issue movements like Live8 and the fox hunting protests.

The report says millions of people are turning away from voting and parties in favour of campaigning and alternative action because they have little influence over decisions affecting their lives.

It calls for caps on party donations, a reduction in the voting age and the scrapping of election deposits as part of a series of measures designed to plug the British public back in to democracy.

The authors also back more devolution of power from central government to parliament and from the centre to local government.

And the study also calls for reform of the electoral and party systems so voters have more choice.

And a new funding system for parties would allow voters to each allocate £3 of public money to the party of their choice.

Review chairman Helena Kennedy said: "Politics and government are increasingly in the hands of privileged elites as if democracy has run out of steam.

"Too often citizens are being evicted from decision-making - rarely asked to get involved and rarely listened to. As a result, they see no point in voting, joining a party or engaging with formal politics."

She added that parliament has been weakened and government is now conducted from Downing Street.

"A new written concordat will reclaim parliament's power by setting out the role of the executive and elected MPs," argued Kennedy.

"It will make parliament a place worth engaging with for those seeking change."

Responding to the findings, shadow constitutional affairs secretary Oliver Heald criticised calls for a lower voting age.

"No European country has a nationwide voting age below 18," he said.

"Of the mere nine countries in the world that do, the likes of Iran, Sudan, Cuba and North Korea are hardly paragons of democracy.

"Lowering the voting age would do nothing to address the underlying problems of political disillusionment, and would just lead to young people abstaining from an even earlier age.

"Clearly, a line must be drawn to indicate when a young person becomes an adult, and the present age of 18 is widely accepted across society as signifying a major turning point in the personal development and maturity of individuals."

But Liberal Democrat president Simon Hughes said the report was "timely, welcome and important".

"British democracy is in crisis whatever the government pretends. Most voters are ignored and most people feel they have no influence," he said.

"The Liberal Democrats will continue to push for fairer parliamentary representation and greater government accountability."