Politics is now a dirty word, when it should be the heart of our public life: diverse, optimistic and open. That’s why Mother has been working on the Open Up project, an ambitious campaign to reengage people with politics and get every MP in the land to stand for reselection before the next General Election. We think comedy can change our perspective on politics, which is why we’ve joined forces with Comic Relief, Spitting Image, and Harry Enfield in a campaign to sort out our dire political situation. The result is a series of films called Tales From The Duck House – featuring ducks discussing politics, expenses, and the splendors of their new accommodation.


Today, candidates are chosen by the parties, often from secretive lists. This fosters a culture of patronage and privilege. Open Primaries would bring a new lease of life to our democracy, encouraging more people to run, and more voter participation. The goal is to compel the main parties to adopt Open Primaries. As part of this, we’re hoping that plenty of people will add their name on the website OpenUpNow.org.

The campaign is just a week old, and already it’s been picked up by Sky News (pick of the day on their website), BBC, the Times and the Guardian, with Twitters from Stephen Fry. Hurrah!

Thanks to Jon Miller for this story. Jon is Mother’s Tony Benn.

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