It’s time to fix the British political system

People will tell you that voting for an independent candidate is a wasted vote – this lie keeps the political parties in power

Why is this action important?

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Influence is currently skewed

We fund and employ a government to serve us.
To safeguard our land and all its people, flora & fauna, to manage our economy and infrastructure and to improve the standard of living for all.

So why should we redesign our political system in the U.K.?

The process we own and fund with our tax money is not truly democratic, it is open to corruption and dishonest practices and it does not encourage long term solutions.

1. It is not truly democratic
   
   a) Most candidates running for election belong to political parties which already have predetermined, often polarised beliefs and ambitions – Political parties are echo chambers for people with similar views and therefore can never represent the whole of society or be an environment for fully open minded and inclusive discussion in the best interest of everyone.
   
   b) Political parties have a hierarchical structure which means more senior members have disproportionate influence and this is further exaggerated by permitting a party leader to choose a cabinet of ministers with aligned ideals, with the power to remove and replace them as desired. This is egotistical and dictatorial behaviour and is not democratic.
   
   c) Party agendas and party structure discourages free Parliamentary voting and normalises bullying.
   
   d) Funding for parties is not equal and therefore during elections, campaign publicity and visibility to the public is disproportionate.
   
   e) The House of Lords is a second house which is not a democratically elected body of representatives and yet they have great influence in the political process.
   
2. It is open to corruption and dishonest practices
   
   a) Political parties are externally funded and therefore disproportionally influenced by their sponsors
   
   b) Members of Parliament can be on other payrolls while serving as an MP and this inevitably leads to a conflict of interests, both in terms of the time available to carry out the role and the related external influences.
   
   c) MPs can receive donations, gifts or services. The rules state that these should not create influence or political favour, however they undoubtedly do.
   
   d) MPs can claim extra expenses. A provision which is often abused.
   
3. It does not encourage long term solutions
   
   a) The term of government is typically 4 to 5 years and often cycles between extreme views, whenever one party replaces another. This is counterproductive and not in our long term interest. The party system has conditioned us into believing that we must choose between the polarised viewpoints presented by competing political parties.
   
   b) Competition in politics is a distraction and has never and will never provide long term sustainable solutions for us. Only open minded debate and collaboration will provide that.
   Short term solutions influenced by political and financial gain are not usually in our best long term interest.

It is time to stop being victims of circumstance and become the architects of our future.

This website is a call to action and a forum for discussion

Proposed solutions:

1. Encourage all Parliamentary candidates to leave their political parties and to become truly independent
2. Encourage all voters to choose from independent candidates only
3. Once numbers are high enough, form a Government of independent representatives
4. Remove all external funding, gifts, services and opportunity for disproportionate influence and make all forms of corruption illegal
5. Replace all undemocratic elements of the system with democratically elected ones including the House of Lords
6. Outlaw non independent candidates who are members, representatives or servants of politically interested organisations
7. Ensure all candidates receive equal exposure to their constituency by restricting publicity to the same template across the same media (no additional, externally or self funded advertising and no media influence permitted)
8. Ensure all elected MPs are free to represent the views of their constituency without bullying, threat or disproportionate influence from others
9. Ensure all elected representatives engage with the full range of their constituency and not be disproportionately influenced by more engaged groups or individuals
10. Ensure all elected representatives work exclusively as full time Members of Parliament and not hold any other positions or employment during their tenure
11. Ensure all government debates are video recorded and made freely available to all citizens with the exception of those which involve genuine matters of state security
12. Encourage citizens to be more involved and interactive with representatives, political processes and debates
13. Encourage collaborative long-term mutually beneficial thinking and solutions
14. Outlaw the manipulation of parliamentary time to favour or limit particular debates

Summary