Unlock Democracy
UK campaign group for a written constitution and electoral Reform, formed in 2007.
Unlock Democracy's core demand reached a governing party on 29 September 2026, when Prime Minister Andy Burnham promised Labour would seek a new Westminster voting system; its director, Tom Brake, said plurality voting "bakes in volatility".
Last refreshed: 7 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Will Burnham's commission give reform campaigners the voting change they want?
Timeline for Unlock Democracy
Mentioned in: Burnham pledges to change voting system
UK Local Elections 2026Mentioned in: King's Speech: 27 bills, no RPA Bill
UK Local Elections 2026Background
Unlock Democracy is a UK campaign group that argues for a written constitution, fair and open elections, and transparency in public decision-making. It was formed in 2007 by merging Charter 88 and the New Politics Network. Charter 88, founded in 1988 on the 300th anniversary of the 1688 revolution, had campaigned for constitutional Reform for two decades.
Tom Brake, a former Liberal Democrat MP, has been its director since October 2020.
Since the 2007 merger, electoral Reform has been its best-known cause. Its central argument, that First past the post distorts results, gained new attention in September 2026, when Labour promised to change the Westminster system and set up a National Commission on Electoral Reform.
The group's core demand reaches Downing Street
For a campaign that has argued for electoral Reform since its founding, the Liverpool conference of 29 September 2026 marked a shift: the Prime Minister committed Labour's next manifesto to electoral change and launched a cross-party Commission. Delegates separately voted, by show of hands, for proportional representation at general elections.
The group's welcome came through its director, whose criticism of the current system was that it produces volatile results. Three gaps remain. Burnham chose no replacement system, the Commission had no chair by early October, and Kemi Badenoch dismissed the plan on 2 October, so the Reform the group wants still faces Conservative opposition.
What is Unlock Democracy?
Who runs Unlock Democracy?
What did Unlock Democracy say about Burnham's electoral reform commission?
