No Power Without Accountability

Acclaimed songwriter, activist and campaigner Billy Bragg will discuss the nature of democracy, citizenship, power and responsibility in this exclusive RSA event.

The British public is rapidly losing faith in its powerful institutions. The little trust that remained after the financial crisis has gradually been eroded in the wake of the MP's expenses scandal, revelations of large scale corporate tax avoidance, publicly financed bankers' bonuses, phone-hacking, police cover-ups, and the Libor rate rigging scandal. Where do we go from here?

Acclaimed songwriter, activist and campaigner Billy Bragg visits the RSA to discuss the nature of democracy, citizenship, power and responsibility. He will argue that those in power must not only be held to account; they must also re-engage the electorate in participatory democracy, help us overcome the current sense that our votes don't mean anything, and re-balance the divide that has opened between the south-east of England and the rest of the UK.

Chair: John Harris, journalist and author.

Watch this event as a RSA Replay.
RSA Replay is now a featured playlist on our Youtube channel, it is the full recording of the event including audience Q&A. There will an edited high-res video version of the talk available in a couple of weeks time, and if you subscribe to our channel on YouTube - you'll get automatically notified whenever there's a new video.