As Elon Musk pontificates online, Labour must take action to restore trust

In the face of the increasing disenfranchisement we need to see action from the Government to enfranchise people and motivate them to have faith and go out and vote. That starts with Proportional Representation. Last year, the new parliament voted in favour of reforming the way our elections are run. The Government’s response? Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was no.

This is a mistake. If one thing is clear, it is that the first past the system is out of date and under fire. Labour will be making a big mistake if they continue to refuse to engage with the debate and even consider changing how our system operates. It will only add more fuel to the populist fire.

This is a time for action. We have foreigners actively trying to interfere with our politics, and someone who will soon have an advisory role to the American government asking his social media followers whether America should invade Britain to overthrow the Government.

We also need to examine the rules around political donations. We should not allow big businesses, unions, or absurdly wealthy billionaires to buy influence by making vast donations to political parties. The Liberal Democrats featured a policy aimed at limiting donations in their manifesto at the General Election, and it is something my fellow Lib Dem MPs and I remain committed too. Politics and elections should be about ordinary people, not who can raise or donate the most money.

I only hope that the Government will take the appropriate action to call Musk to account, and make it clear to the incoming Trump administration that his actions are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. But they must also take action on the other points I’ve raised: the most important thing is to sure up our own democracy, and restore trust in it.

That also means that we need to see government action to help people, and deliver for them. After so many years of Conservative action, we need action to help the NHS, end the sewage scandal and deal with the cost of living.

Although it may just be coincidence, it is sobering that Musk’s comments came on the 6th of January, infamous as the date, 4 years ago, that Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington D.C., as the Senate sat to confirm Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 US Presidential election. The Government must prove to the country that democracy is worth it, and that starts by delivering, and showing people that politics can and does work for them.