3 Articles by:
Martyn Rush is a former Labour councillor on Oxford City Council. He has also served on the committee of Oxford Momentum and the Oxford Living Wage Campaign.
From the Levellers to the Chartists and Tom Paine to Tony Benn, a seam of republicanism runs through much of what is great about Britain – a tradition that is just as much a part of its history as the royal family.
No democratic society should accept the principle that its parliament includes hereditary peers or lifetime appointees – it’s time to abolish the House of Lords.
Thirty years ago, Tony Benn’s Commonwealth of Britain Bill proposed to transform our democracy by devolving power, guaranteeing social rights and abolishing the monarchy – it’s time for today’s Left to take up its mantle.