Peter Morgan-Barnes

Hello, my name is Peter Morgan Barnes and I am one of the Libertas candidates for the South West of England. Libertas is a pan European party dedicated to the constitutional reform of the European Union. I am originally from Wales but have lived in Northern Ireland for much of the last 20 years. I have seen, and played a part in, the transformation of society there from one of endemic civil conflict to one of shaky but slowly strengthening peace. My interest in constitutional politics stems from my experience of this 30 year political disaster.

At present the European Commission exercises a de facto monopoly on legislation. The European Parliament is not primarily a law making body. Consequently our elected representatives do not form the executive; instead this role is performed by unelected appointees. Representatives but not legislators, our MEP’s sit in a disempowered parliament. The current constitution reflects a compromise between those who feared losing national sovereignty and those who wished to see an integrated European Union.

I believe this is an arrangement whose time has passed. Libertas is a pro-European party, but believes in urgent and thorough reform. European legislation is a huge factor in all our lives. Under normal circumstances a democratic society allows its citizens to elect its legislators directly. In the current Europe, citizens elect their national legislators who then appoint the European legislators. This is democracy at one remove. It is particularly shameful as the system is given a veneer of democracy through our electing a hamstrung parliament every 5 years.

Libertas wishes to see a European executive which is directly elected by the people, directly accountable to the electorate and transparent in its governing.

As a party we see our demand for reform as being in the tradition of the reform acts of the 19th century which secured the vote for ordinary people, and created accountable government. Since the success of the Women’s Suffrage Movement there has been an assumption that the battle for democracy has long been won and we can rest easy on that assurance. We can’t. We have a duty on July 4th. It is the same duty that our ancestors faced when the Great Reform Act secured them the vote: to pass on that democratic right, undiminished, to our children. As someone who has just become a father, I feel this very keenly.

Libertas demands that every European citizen be given the right to vote for their legislators. We are a suffragist party.