Campaign and petition email responses
Our political system
The SNP would absolutely agree with your assessment that the Westminster political system is broken.
The SNP support abolishing the House of Lords and has never put Lords in the chamber despite being entitled to dozens.
This is because the SNP believe in the principle of democracy, and will fight for the abolition of the lords, not stuff it with cronies.
Labour first promised to abolish the Lords over 100 years ago when the party was last led by a man called Kier, but has never delivered on their promise, and now is set to ennoble 100 Lords if they win the next election.
The SNP have advocated devolution, and furthering it, for decades, long before any other Westminster party.
We support devolution of further powers and called for wide ranging devolution after the 2014 referendum.
Despite the unionist parties promising more wide ranging devolution repeatedly, at the referendum and since, they have never delivered the radical change they allegedly advocated.
The SNP support a system of Proportional representation in UK elections, even though the SNP would lose seats, as democracy is more important that a single party’s electoral success.
Proportional representation would give all people a voice and end the days when a party can get 43% of the vote and rule with absolute control.
Unfortunately, democracy is not more important than party success for the Tories, which are undermining future elections to push the scales in their favour.
However, Labour have ruled out any electoral change should they win the next UK General Election, meaning that proportional representation is extremely unlikely to be delivered at Westmisnter.
Due to the winner takes all nature of the UK electoral system, and the nature of Westminster politics, there is little the opposition can do to change rules and force the government to be held to account.
As such, the only way that the people of Scotland can guarantee a government they vote for, elected only through proportional methods, is for Scotland to become an independent country and build a democratic and governance system fit for the 21st century.
Independent of the oppositional and confrontational nature of Westminster, Scotland will be able to foster a cooperative and collaborative system of governance, which the SNP in Government have always strived for, passing legislation with opposition parties as much as possible.
An independent Scotland would enshrine proportional democracy, rule of law, transparency, judicial independence, far reaching social political and economic rights, and more in its constitution. This would deliver the better society Scots seek, while continued Westminster rule will deliver nothing but continued stagnancy and managed decline.
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