History
In 2003, 15 years after the formation of Charter 88, the organisation was experiencing a very turbulent period and this led to great organisational changes. A loss of intellectual contribution, the organisation's increasing financial woes and a period of resignations and redundancies created a near crisis situation in late 2003. In February 2005, Charter 88 and the New Politics Network set up a joint working relationship to make the most of their resources in the establishment of the Elect the Lords campaign. The two organisations decided to formalise their working relationship in 2006, and Unlock Democracy was founded in 2007.
Members of Charter 88 (a pressure group advocating constitutional electoral reform) and the New Politics Network (the organisation established after the winding up of the think tank Democratic Left, which was itself the legal successor of the Communist Party of Great Britain) voted to merge the two organisations. This was not without controversy, however, with NPN Director Nina Temple, among others, attempting to steer the organisation back towards its democratic socialist roots at the 2003 AGM. This feeling may have been prompted because the contribution of NPN to this merger was substantially financial, due to the dire financial situation of Charter 88. The movement and subsequent campaigning of the organisation could also be criticised for remaining truer to its Charter 88 roots than those of the NPN. The NPN strapline, however, "connecting people and politics", was retained.
The merger was completed in November 2007.
Read more about this topic: Unlock Democracy
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