Writing on Comment Is Free, Hazel Blears reckons Labour's problem is that it has become distanced from its voters. 'The problem is the powerlessness within the system for the majority of people,' she writes. 'People feel that their views disappear into a black hole, without the slightest echo.'
Hazel's solution is 'a healthy dose of direct democracy': more directly elected mayors, a reinvigorated co-op movement, and online petitions. 'Petitions, especially on-line, should be used to guide the deliberations of local councillors and ministers,' she says. 'Petitioners should be able to press for debates in council chambers and even parliament.'
If that inspires anyone to set up their own petitions system... don't forget that the Downing Street petitions system, built by MySociety, is 'open source', meaning you can download and use it free of charge.
Cool. I knew it was open source but had never bothered to download it and have a play. Am doing so now - is it a php/mysql job do you know, or am I going to have to try and learn something else?