[As ever, this is also on the BBC News website, and the Modern Liberty site has lots of links and content to delight and entertain…]
In November 1988 Stuart Weir, at the time editor of the New Statesman, published a special edition of the magazine asking those concerned with the health of British democracy to stand up and be counted. The proposal, which he called ‘Charter 88’, called for a new constitutional settlement, one which would guarantee civil liberties and the rule of law.
Shortly afterwards 348 people paid for and signed an advert in The Guardian newspaper asking people to offer support, and a year later an organisation called Charter 88 was founded to take the campaign forward, with Anthony Barnett as its first Director.
The Charter was eventually signed by over 85,000 people, including me, and the organisation it inspired continues to campaign for democracy, rights and freedoms as Unlock Democracy.