Category: Events

Grassroots democracy was in action in Croydon on Thursday 18th April, when the Croydon Constitutionalists held their inaugural Debate for Democracy.  Five democracy honouring pro-Brexit parties spoke and took place in a debate at the Green Dragon on Croydon high street.

Unlike so many in Westminster all parties agree on honouring the biggest vote in British history and the evening focused on a post-Brexit Britain.  Questions covered a wide range of topics from knife crime, where a number of participants spoke about the need to rebuild families, alongside tough sentences.  Chris Mendes the former Vote Leave lead in Croydon South and now Foundation Party Leader quoted a recent case where someone caught with a assortment of knives on them, was given just a four month suspended sentence.

Parties policies on the Customs Union was an area of agreement with all saying they wanted to leave it, and move to WTO terms.  In the event us being caught in the Backstop, Richard Plackett who in 2002 stood for Labour in Shirley and is now the SDP London and South East Regional Organiser, suggested they would want to give notice to leave and use the Vienna Convention to ensure we did.

Direct verses Representative democracy was a reoccurring theme, Neville Watson the Democrats and Veterans Party Spokesman for Cities, Urban Communities & Sport, and Sean Finch Libertarian Party candidate in the Lewisham East By Election speaking in favour of a Swiss style model.  UKIP Croydon Chair Hoong Wai Cheah, who stood in Lewisham West in the 2017 general election and Old Coulsdon in last years local elections, spoke about UKIP retaining its deposit in the Newport by-election and how we need to move to a Proportional Representation system for elections.

In a change from the tribal nature of so much of politics the representatives and their supporters stayed behind to enjoy a drink and swap stories from many campaign trails.  With the current two party system broken these parties showed how the future of politics can be different.

Audio from the night available on YouTube at:

Speeches https://youtu.be/UPIirhZECTY

Panel Part 1 https://youtu.be/J_e-2IffCEo

Panel Part 2 https://youtu.be/Ults3b-k-cQ

The Croydon Constitutionalists are hosting a ‘Debate for Democracy’ of democracy honouring pro-Brexit parties in April. Representatives of the Democrats and Veterans Party, Foundation Party, Libertarian Party, SDP and UK Independence Party, will be setting out their agenda for a democratic Britain and taking part in the panel debate.

The debate will be held upstairs at the Green Dragon, 60 High St, Croydon CR0 1NA from 7pm on the 18th April 2019. All parties are pro-Brexit and honouring the biggest vote in British history. Each speaker will be given 5 minutes to talk about their party and plans for Britain free from the EU.

Democrats and Veterans Party – Neville Watson

Party spokesman for Cities, Urban Communities & Sport, Neville has been actively involved as a social / community activist for over 30 years, often fighting against the odds for social justice and equality. The party fights to ensure that the government serve the interests of the people ahead of special and foreign interests; and for the sovereign will of the British people to be asserted on our servants in Parliament – by campaigning for Direct Democracy.

Foundation Party – Chris Mendes

Party Leader Chris has declared the major political parties not fit for purpose, the country is desperately missing a party, one that is more patriotic and genuinely at the service of ordinary people rather than themselves. Chris was the Vote Leave lead in Croydon South during the referendum. The Foundation Party is a long-term project for building a serious platform for clear patriotic principles for like-minded individuals who believe that our country can do so much better.

Libertarian Party – Sean Finch

Libertarian party candidate in the Lewisham East By Election, Sean is an avid free-speech advocate. The party stands for lower taxes for both individuals and companies, small government, free speech and individual responsibility. They support free trade and free enterprise whilst believing that people should make their own choices and not rely on the government. They support a withdrawal from the European Union and a return to the free trade agreements that it was founded on.

SDP – Richard Plackett

Richard is the London and South East Regional Organiser for the Social Democratic Party. The SDP represents the radical centre of British politics today, defining the limits of the market and the state and harnessing both to rebuild Britain. The Party aims to provide a political home to all social democrats who seek a stronger and more capable state along with greater individual responsibility, trust and social solidarity.

UKIP – Hoong Wai Cheah

UKIP Croydon Chair Hoong Wai has stood in Coulsdon for recent council elections and Lewisham West in the 2017 general election. UKIP is a Party that represents freedom, freedom from the European Union, freedom from political correctness and Cultural Marxism, freedom of speech, and freedom to be proud to be British. UKIP’s mission is to show the way forward for Britain as an independent, self-governing, democratic nation. They want trade, friendship and co-operation with the world.

This is a great chance to see local representatives of parties that are growing as people are increasingly dissatisfied with the discredited politics of those in Westminster.