I think the first and greatest reform that would lead to better candidates is an election system that better represents the people's vote. You can't (shouldn't try to) make them vote for people from a particular background, but you can make sure more of our collective and disparate views are represented in Parliament by ensuring those groups (even the ones you don't like) are seeing that their views are being expressed by representatives. FPTP leads to polarisation, to parties being hijacked by well-organised minority groups as well as to disillusionment with the whole process.
I've voted in every election, local and national, since I was a student. And yet I'm not sure I'll bother any more. Maybe the UK needs some time in the darkness before Parliament sees fit to introduce an electoral system fit for the modern world.
From my past long term experience of Labour Party membership, I sincerely doubt that there is any interest in invigorating local branches for any purpose, including facilitating calm debate. Given the crisis in local government funding and the distrust of local government itself, funding local forums would also be a non-starter. In view of the intensity of efforts to polarise us all and to make us distrust each other, it would be really constructive for us all to form and maintain human personal connections with each other. It can be anything from being trusted to keep a neighbour's delivery safe for them to joining an online forum around a niche interest where we get to know and people who share that interest but have otherwise very different views and lives to us.
I think the first and greatest reform that would lead to better candidates is an election system that better represents the people's vote. You can't (shouldn't try to) make them vote for people from a particular background, but you can make sure more of our collective and disparate views are represented in Parliament by ensuring those groups (even the ones you don't like) are seeing that their views are being expressed by representatives. FPTP leads to polarisation, to parties being hijacked by well-organised minority groups as well as to disillusionment with the whole process.
I've voted in every election, local and national, since I was a student. And yet I'm not sure I'll bother any more. Maybe the UK needs some time in the darkness before Parliament sees fit to introduce an electoral system fit for the modern world.
From my past long term experience of Labour Party membership, I sincerely doubt that there is any interest in invigorating local branches for any purpose, including facilitating calm debate. Given the crisis in local government funding and the distrust of local government itself, funding local forums would also be a non-starter. In view of the intensity of efforts to polarise us all and to make us distrust each other, it would be really constructive for us all to form and maintain human personal connections with each other. It can be anything from being trusted to keep a neighbour's delivery safe for them to joining an online forum around a niche interest where we get to know and people who share that interest but have otherwise very different views and lives to us.