Michael Mansfield QC
Thu, 26 Feb 2015 15:34:00 GMT
Michael Mansfield QC talks about...
...how the system has become unaccountable to ordinary people where a non-democratic situation is leaving UK citizens out in the cold in a country run by people who have only their own vested interests at heart.
Michael Mansfield QC has been a barrister for nearly 50 years and he was invited by the Law School at the University of Huddersfield to deliver its annual Social Justice Lecture. Prior to the lecture, the barrister talked about the message of his lecture and explains how he feels that the system, particularly parliament, has become distant from and unresponsive towards ordinary people, where a non-democratic situation is leaving UK citizens out in the cold in a country run by people who have only their own vested interests at heart. He cites the recent 'cash for access' scandal surrounding both Conservative MP Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Labour MP Jack Straw. He also applauds the work of the Occupy Movement and welcomes the possibilities for regional devolution.
In his lecture entitled The Democratic Deficit Mr Mansfield lashed the House of Commons as “stagnant, antiquated and corrupt”. He argued that the current “cash for access” controversy surrounding Conservative MP Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Labour MP Jack Straw was as serious as the Parliamentary expenses row before the last general election.
Now, with a new election looming, Mr Mansfield told his audience that “the system is broken and does not just need mending. We need a different system. Vote for the usual suspects and you get more of the same”.
He claimed that an opportunity had arisen for people to say “enough is enough” and he argued that a democratic revolution is taking place, symbolised by a sequence of Reimagining Democracy meetings taking place in several large UK cities.
The Social Justice Lecture was introduced by Sean Curley, who heads the University of Huddersfield’s Law School. He raised the legacy of Magna Carta – which reminded the king that the law was above him – and he paid tribute to Michael Mansfield, who also “reminded the great and the powerful that they are subject to the law.”
