Julian Ware-Lane uses new web initiative which gives voters the chance to check where candidates stand on democratic reform  

For the first time, voters can go to one website to compare and contrast the views of their General Election candidates about reforming the political system, which has been rocked by the crisis over MP’s expenses. 

The new web initiative - DEMREF 2010 - aims to become a comprehensive, constituency-by-constituency listing of where parliamentary candidates stand on issues such as electoral reform, primaries for candidate selection and recalling wrongdoing MPs. 

In particular, with an unusually high number of MPs standing down, DEMREF 2010 will help to plug the information gap about new parliamentary hopefuls whose outlook is largely unknown. 

Already hundreds of candidates have contributed to DEMREF 2010 and organisers expect the majority to add their views by the end of March, when the General Election campaign is in full swing. DEMREF 2010 is asking constituents to help by requesting that their candidates take part.  

DEMREF 2010 organiser Tony Samphier said: “For this election to be truly about policies not personalities, voters must be able to check and compare the views of their candidates on how to clean up our discredited political system. After the damaging debacle over MP’s expenses, ordinary people want to be sure that aspiring political representatives are serious about reform and not stuck in the past.”   

Castle Point’s Labour candidate, Julian Ware-Lane, said “I was happy to make my views on democratic reform known. I am a member of the Electoral Reform Society, as well as the Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform, and am keen to have the debate on where we take our democracy”.