Unlocking democracy and creating a federal EU

his month’s (Wed 2 Aug) WWW WorldWide Wednesday will look at ways to improve British democracy and of harnessing the potential of federalism. Our WWW experts will provide insightful analysis and shed light on the important issue of future democratic rights. – Please register now to secure your WWW spot for valuable insights and to contribute to our conversation. The two August (Wed 2 Aug) #WWW WorldWideWednesday speakers are:

Tom Brake is the Director of Unlock Democracy. Tom joined the organisation after twenty-two years as a Member of Parliament, where he was active in pushing for democratic reform, including extending Freedom of Information (FOI) laws to private companies like Serco and Capita when they undertake work for the public sector, defending UK elections from foreign interference, and for votes at 16. Tom has held a number of key positions in the Liberal Democrats and was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 2011Deputy Leader of the House of Commons in October 2012 and an Assistant Government Whip in November 2014.

Dirk Hazell graduated form the University of Cambridge and qualified as a barrister. Dirk wrote what became the template for the European Communities’ 1992 single market programme. Dirk led the euro-capital market through the first wave of EU sectoral legislation and then the environmental services sector through the Sixth Environment Action Programme. Dirk chaired the Conservative Party’s Foreign Affairs Forum and London Region, but left the party when it left the mainstream centre-right EPP European People’s Party. In 2012, Dirk co-founded the UK EPP which he now leads. Dirk is also Chair of Federal Union (founded in 1938) which was credited by the only British President of the European Commission as having made possible the UK’s Accession to the EC in 1973.

Chair: Dr Neil Pye is a historian and political scientist specialising in British Politics at the University of Liverpool. Neil is a member of the Political Studies Association specialist group on Local Politics and Governance. Neil has written about Chartism and the nineteenth-century British State; the post-war history of the Labour Party including the Militant Tendency in Liverpool, and about devolution and local governance in James Callaghan: An Underrated Prime Minister. Neil’s specialist fields are Metro Mayors, English Devolution, British political parties and ideologies, along with European Union and German politics. Neil served as a borough councillor in West Lancashire from 2011-15, and was proactive in delivering the highly-successful Findon and Firbeck housing regeneration scheme in Skelmersdale. Since 2017, Neil is a prominent voice in local government politics in North West England, campaigning on environmental matters, plus supporting Devolution and Metro Mayors. As a proud European, Neil frequently chairs WWW Worldwide Wednesday events for the EMM European Movement Merseyside [LCR Liverpool City Region].