This is an article of mine that was published today in the Guardian’s Comment is Free section.

The 2015 election debate is in the gutter. Time for the People’s Parliament

The media and main political parties are serving us up rubbish, so we are opening up parliament’s rooms for truly public debate

There are meeting rooms in parliament. Let’s use them and bring some real politics to the place.’

Are we really going to allow the debate in the runup to the general election be dominated by the bigotry of Ukip against migrants, the vile hounding of anyone on benefits by the Tories, and the timidity of many in the Labour leadership about saying anything of purpose and principle?

Benefits Street is just the latest example of the poison pouring daily out of our televisions, radio phone-ins and papers like the Sun and Mail -; poison that is dictating the electoral agenda of the political strategists of the main parties, and manipulating the fears and insecurity of people in order to smokescreen the corporate kleptocracy that we inhabit.

It degrades and demeans us all if we allow this politics to dominate and go unchallenged. Anyone with any claim to decency has a responsibility now to stand up against this debased politics.

One way of taking a stand is to positively determine to engage in real politics and cut through the crap served up to us by this coalition of the craven.