Two cheers…

“The worst thing that can happen in a democracy – as well as in an individual’s life – is to become cynical about the future and lose hope.”

Hillary Clinton

To mark the 750th anniversary of the first English parliament of elected representatives at Westminster (the de Montfort parliament which opened on 20th January 1265) the BBC has declared today to be ‘Democracy Day’. Given that democracy is a precious but fragile flower that requires careful nurturing I can only encourage the gentle reader to continue to exercise great care on its behalf – to ensure that the delicate bud does not wither on the branch through apathy or cynicism. Our democracies are far from perfect – but that should not prevent us from striving to make them so.

According to the Democracy Ranking Association there is little to choose between the UK and Canada in terms of world democracy rankings, with both countries lagging behind the Scandinavian nations – as has indeed long been the case. Do have a look at the Democracy Ranking Association website should you wish to know more about the criteria used for evaluation, or simply to gloat about your own nation’s position relative to others!

Clearly little room for complacency, but good to know nonetheless that both are well towards the top of the table.