Over the past week, 38 Degrees members have been working together to make a factsheet that sets the story straight about what a hung parliament would mean.  Here it is:

38 Degrees Hung Parliament Factsheet

What’s this factsheet for?

There are a lot of scare stories in the press at the moment about what a hung parliament would mean. Nearly 90% of 38 Degrees members said last month that they thought it offered a real chance to change politics for the better. That’s why we’re working together to set the story straight.

Who made this factsheet?

38 Degees members from across the UK came together last week to make this factsheet to bust some of the the main myths and scare stories about a hung parliament.

What is a hung parliament?

A hung parliament means that no one political party wins the election outright. Instead, parties have to work together to get things done in a coalition government. Many people think that the name ‘hung parliament’ is too negative. A alternative name is “balanced parliament”.

The Scare Stories

1. A hung parliament means weak and ineffective government.

38 Degrees members said: This isn’t true. There are examples of coalition governments working well all over the world, from Germany and New Zealand to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly in the UK. We won the Second World War under a coalition government.

2. A hung parliament would mean no decisive action to secure our economic recovery.

38 Degrees members said: Again, this is not true. The evidence shows that coalition governments are better at ensuring financial recovery. A recent study from the House of Commons showed that 7 out of 10 of the largest fiscal consolidations (that means reductions in government debt) in OECD member countries since 1970 have been carried out under coalition governments. [1]

Business leaders agree. The Director-General of one of the biggest business lobby groups in the UK has said that a coalition government could ‘work well’, and even be stronger than a government with one party in charge. [2]

3: Markets would react badly to a hung parliament, meaning economic disaster for the UK.

38 Degrees members said: The markets aren’t worried about the idea of a hung parliament. Moody’s, a leading credit agency, has said that a hung parliament could be ‘quite positive’. [3]

Investment bank Goldman Sachs says that investors “have become a lot more comfortable” with the idea that no one party may have a clear majority. [4]

4: The Liberal Democrats aren’t a credible party to be part of a coalition in charge of the country.

38 Degrees members said: A recent poll showed that if voters thought the Lib Dems had a chance at power, nearly half of them would vote Lib Dem at the general election.[5]

If many people in the UK vote for the Lib Dems in this year’s election, it’s fair that they should be involved. It would also send an important signal to Labour and the Conservatives that reform is needed at Westminster.

5: If there’s a hung parliament the party with the majority will just call another election in 6 months and we’ll have to do it all again.

38 Degrees members said: There’s a risk that a coalition government might call another election, but that’s a risk with all types of government. A hung parliament could mean we get political reform which would make governments more accountable to us – like fixed term Parliaments.

The Positive Case

It’s important to put forward the positive case for a hung parliament, too. Here are some of the key reasons why a hung parliament could be a good thing.

1. A hung parliament means more representative government.

Our first-past-the-post voting system means that at the moment we have a government that only won 35% of the vote. A hung, or balanced Parliament will better represent what the voters want, and will force MPs to the more thoughtful of and responsive to public opinion.

2. A hung parliament could mean reform of the voting system.

As a condition of forming part of the governing coalition, the Liberal Democrats could demand a reform of our voting system – like introducing proportional representation. This means that a hung parliament could result in vital changes to make our voting system fairer.

3. A hung parliament means people getting interested about politics again.

A parliament where there is real debate on real issues, where power is still ‘up for grabs’, will encourage people to get involved in the political process, because they feel that they can have a say in parliamentary decisions. If one party simply ‘wins’ and starts running the country on its own, many people will feel that their voices are not being heard, and they will lose interest.

[1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/03/dont-be-afraid-of-hung-parliament

[2] http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article7107223.ece

[3] http://www.tdwaterhouse.co.uk/news/newsitem.cfm?newsid=429599

[4] http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/62581,business,uk-gdp-up-as-goldman-sachs-votes-for-hung-parliament-buy-pound-sell-euro

[5] http://today.yougov.co.uk/commentaries/peter-kellner/could-lib-dems-win-outright

UPDATE:  ITN have just made a report on the flash mob – check it out here.

UPDATE 2: Left Foot Forward also made a video, check it out here or below:

Over the weekend, over 30,000 of us joined the 38 Degrees-Avaaz campaign to stop Rupert Murdoch skewing our election. We’ve come together to defend our right to make our own minds up. We’re spreading the word and challenging the spin.

There are just two days of this election campaign left now, and the result’s still looking too close to call. That means we can be sure that the right-wing press will be doing all they can to install their man in Downing St. We need to do all we can to show what they’re up to and stop them gaining momentum.

If by any chance you’re in central London lunchtime today,Tuesday, there’s a “Flashmob” to highlight what the tabloids are up to outside Parliament. It promises “the biggest rolled-up tabloid newspaper sword fight in the world EVER” as a way of saying “yes to hope and no to tabloid fear”.

This could be a great chance to get the rest of the media to report the backlash against Murdoch. It also sounds like it could be fun! Here are the details as posted on the event page on facebook:

FLASHMOB – The Hung Parliament party – Yes to Hope and No To Tabloid Fear!

HOPE vs FEAR? We know which side we’re on. We’ve had enough of The Sun, The Mail and other rags scaremongering and doing their worst to steal our hopes for change.

Let’s come together to be heard — let’s all FLASH-MOB in Westminster near Parliament TOMORROW (Tuesday) lunchtime! (precise venue will be sent out in next 10 hours)

RSVP NOW to the right of this page… go on! RSVP! you know you want to — and invite your friends! (the latest forecast is sunny)

Come prepared to do battle, with a ROLLED-UP COPY of your (least) favourite TABLOID RAG — and don’t forget a nice bit of lunch!

Arrive nonchalantly just beforehand – and at 1pm exactly, let’s scream our hopes out loud and start the biggest ROLLED-UP PAPER SWORD-FIGHT ever!

After we’ve vented our democratic passions at the tabloids, let’s put what’s left of them in a pile in the middle of the space, and all SIT DOWN for a quick HUNG PARLIAMENT PARTY if we like — a picnic lunch and a chat about the change we want to see!

After all, our politicians will have to do the same if no-one wins an overall majority in Thursday’s election – and that might be no bad thing…

My scream is going to be “FOR HOPE AND DEMOCRACY!” What’s yours?

UPDATE:
looks like Avaaz, 38 Degrees and Liberal Conspiracy networks are piling in!
http://www.avaaz.org/
http://www.38degrees.org.uk
http://liberalconspiracy.org/2010/05/01/no-to-daily-mail-sun-propaganda-important-flashmob-tuesday-afternoon/

(Remember: this is not a demonstration or organised protest — it’s a spontaneous, friendly and self-organising flashmob, and it will start and finish within a few minutes. There shouldn’t be any trouble with the authorities, and of course, let’s all conduct ourselves in a respectful, peaceful and law-abiding way! — and make sure our rolled-up tabloid papers do damage to each other, NOT to us. If the police approach you and ask you to stop, it’s a good idea to do as they say. We’re all responsible for our own actions and safety.) Anyone who wants can join in a litter-pick afterwards — we’ll recycle the battered tabloid rags so they go to a good cause!

RSVP now! And invite your friends to join you!

Right-wing media scaremongering about a hung parliament is dominating the airwaves. But we know that millions of us want to cast our votes with hope – of a better politics and more balanced parliament. A massive outcry by tens of thousands of us will help shift the debate. You can join the campaign here.

But before you do here is some bank holiday fun. Don’t let Murdoch be the only one writing the headlines this election. Use our new (and experimental) “Tabloid-hung-parliament-scare-story-headline-generator” to create your own hung parliament scary story.

Post the link to your own headline below when you’re done and we’ll update this post with our favourites.

Here’s one to get you started:

So don’t delay – create your headline today: http://labs.38degrees.org.uk/headline/

Note: This tool was cobbled together in a few hours today by the fantastic team at Rechord. If you have any problems or suggestions to improve it do let us know in the comments below.

Here are some more we’ve just received:

Holy crap! See the image here and: http://bit.ly/9IuCFR

and another:

Hung Parliaments Cause Volcanic Eruptions http://bit.ly/adQdYJ

and another:

and another:

George Eustice (far right) with the other candidates for Camborne & Redruth

Secret lobbying of our MPs is a massive problem. It’s outrageous that big business can spend millions on lobbyists that get their voices heard – and we have no right to know who is meeting who, who representing who or how much their spending. 38 Degrees members decided earlier this year that banning secret lobbying should be one of our top priorities in the election campaign.

In Cornwall, local 38 Degrees members have been campaigning hard to ban secret lobbying. The campaign in Camborne and Redruth has been a very successful campaign so far – all the candidates except George Eustice (Conservative) have pledged to back a ban of secret lobbying.

So at the local “question time” last night I tried to ask George why he’s ignoring the local campaign and is refusing to back the ban. He wouldn’t comment – instead saying he’d email through a comment “soon” (nothing received yet). I asked him to explain why he won’t support a ban of secret lobbying in a video – but he refused that too.

I tried to catch up with him outside the venue but, in true politician style, he (and his team) charged out so quickly there was no chance of catching him. All the other candidates were happy to speak to me on camera – I’ll try to get those clips online soon.

With his background as a lobbyist and David Cameron’s former spin-doctor, Eustice is well placed to try to duck tough questions like he did last night. But he’d do well to remember that this issue isn’t going to go away. As David Cameron said a few months ago “Lobbying is the next political scandal waiting to happen”. The local campaign is growing fast (sign the petition here: www.38degrees.org.uk/camborne) and pressure is growing on Eustice every day.

So George, if you’re reading this (which I’m sure you are – your team told me you get all our emails) please let us know why you don’t back a ban on secret lobbying.

Note: You can see a full list of the candidates running for the seat of Camborne and Redruth on the “Your Next MP “site: http://www.yournextmp.com/seats/camborne_and_redruth

Our people-powered election debate can be listened to again on the Guardian website. The debate was a fantastic opportunity to ask the politicians the questions we wanted answered.

Listen to the debate here on the Guardian website.

The election was officially called a few hours ago, and 38 Degrees members are already taking action to make sure we get politicians with the right priorities. Watch David’s video blog about how it’s going so far here.

As reported in the Observer this morning,  we’ve teamed up with the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency to challenge Prospective Parliamentary Candidates (PPCs) on their lobbying links and to urge all PPCs to pledge to support a  statutory register of lobbying activity – so the public can find out who is trying to influence our politicians.

Get Involved – Take Action
Click on the links below if you live in the constiuencies highlighted to find out more and take action. If you don’t live in the constituencies listed you can still ask your PPCs to support lobbying transparency - just click here to get started.

Witham – Priti Patel (Conservative)

Priti hasn’t been completely transparent with voters about her links to lobbying. Priti works for global PR and political lobbying firm, Weber Shandwick. But her campaign website only mentions that she is a director of a company providing “business and communication strategy” advice.

Portsmouth North – Penny Mordaunt (Conservative)
Penny describes herself on her campaign website as a “healthcare consultant”. But according to official documents, Penny is also a director and minority shareholder of a London-based media and lobbying firm, Media Intelligence Partners (MIP), which she co-founded six years ago. The company boasts of its “excellent contacts among senior Conservative politicians”.

Redruth – George Eustice (Conservative)
George hasn’t been completely transparent with voters about his links to lobbying. George is a commercial lobbyist with a firm called Portland PR. But there is no mention of this on his campaign website.

Wolverhampton North East  - Emma Reynolds (Labour)
Emma currently works for a commercial lobbying firm, Cogitamus, where she “plays a leading role… providing a contemporary understanding of the Whitehall and Westminster scene”. Until we contacted her, her campaign website, didn’t mention this job.

Contact your PPCs
If you don’t live in the constituencies mentioned above you can still get involved – just click here to ask all your PPCs to get pledge to support lobbying transparancy. It only takes two minutes.

The next big scandal?

Party leaders will debate before the election

With the 38 Degrees’ general election consultation in its final phase, one of the ideas that has emerged has already become a campaign. Several people suggested that the TV leadership debates in the run-up to the general election would be a good way for us to get involved: it’s a chance to make sure that ordinary voters get heard, rather than just the usual suspects.

So, we were concerned when we saw the news that politicians and their spin doctors are already squabbling about how to make the debates work. There’s a danger that it will become another opportunity for polished political performances, without putting our would-be leaders on the spot about the issues that we care about.

At first, these debates seemed like a step in the right direction. But there can’t be open debate if the people that count – the voters – are left out. The party leaders and their teams want to control everything about the debates, so that nothing will be able to spoil their image. That means no questions from the audience and no real debate.

Now, we’re taking action to call on the party leaders to let voters choose and ask the majority of questions during the TV debates. We want to quiz the party leaders directly on the issues that matter to us, like climate change, public services and bankers’ bonuses.

Click here to join the campaign for real debates between the party leaders at election time, so we can get the answers we need to decide who to vote for on polling day: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/open-up-election-debates

A couple of people have got in touch with us asking questions about the election consultation. Here are the answers to the most common questions.

How do I get involved? Thousands of 38 Degrees members from every corner of the UK are helping us decide what we should do in the election right now. To get involved just sign up here: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/2010-election and we’ll send you login details within 24 hours.

I’ve lost my login details: Don’t worry. Just go here to get a reminder sent to you very soon http://38degrees.achordus.net/member/getreminder

How do I use Achordus: We’ve prepared a quick slide show to show you around the forum. Watch it below

I’ve got other questions – who should I contact: To contact the moderator team email support@achordus.com