It’s time to fix our political systems
Democracy is:
A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives, “a system of parliamentary democracy”.
Democracy is a system of government in which state power is vested in the people or the general population of a state. According to the United Nations, democracy “provides an environment that respects human rights and fundamental freedoms, in which the freely expressed will of people is exercised.”
Democracy is not:
A system of government in which state power is vested in small hierarchically organised groups and parties, many of who are unelected and who are funded and disproportionately influenced by other groups or businesses.
An environment that disrespects or erodes human rights and fundamental freedom and which represses the will of the people in favour of personal financial gain, benefit or power.
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 systems?
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.
- 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 and candidates is not equal and therefore during elections, campaign publicity and visibility to the public is disproportionate.
e) In the U.K. the 2nd House is not a democratically elected body of representatives and yet they have great influence in the political process. - 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. - 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 converstation, 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:
- Encourage all Parliamentary candidates to leave their political parties and to become truly independent
- Encourage all voters to choose from independent candidates only
- Once numbers are high enough, form a Government of independent representatives
- Remove all external funding, gifts, services and opportunity for disproportionate influence and make all forms of corruption illegal
- Replace all undemocratic elements of the system with democratically elected ones including the 2nd House
- Outlaw non independent candidates who are members, representatives or servants of politically interested organisations
- 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)
- Ensure all elected Representatives are free to present the views of their constituency without bullying, threat or disproportionate influence from others
- Ensure all elected Representatives engage with the full range of their constituency and not be disproportionately influenced by more engaged groups or individuals
- Ensure all elected Representatives work exclusively in a full time capacity and do not hold any other positions or employment during their tenure
- 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
- Encourage citizens to be more involved and interactive with Representatives, political processes and debates
- Encourage collaborative long-term mutually beneficial solutions
- Outlaw the manipulation of parliamentary time to favour or limit particular debates
Summary
| Current party political process | Proposed democratic political process | Why this change is necessary |
|---|
| Sponsored by influencers | Sponsoring & gifts are completely outlawed | Democracy must serve the people and must not be compromised by other disproportionate influence and bribery in any guise |
| Hierarchical structure | Level structure based on equality | Hierarchical structures form dictatorships and attract ego, greed, dishonesty and extremism |
| Hierarchical influence & bullying | Independent freedom of thought & speech | Democratic process requires open debate, discussion and freedom to vote in a way which best represents the short and long term benefit of one’s constituency and the whole country |
| Pre-determined policies | Open minded discussions | True open minded relevant debate cannot take place in a setting of predetermined ideology or indoctrinated beliefs |
| Focused on short to medium term solutions | Focused on short, medium & long term solutions | Decision making must not only be based on short term benefit of the representative or political party |
| The party chooses the candidates | Candidates are self-proposed or proposed by the people | Currently candidates are already indoctrinated into a political party’s ideology and are sponsored by that party and other stakeholders and therefore are not truly free to represent their constituency |
| The people vote mainly for candidates from political parties | The people only vote for independent candidates | Choosing truly independent candidates will ensure there is no previously determined agenda or stakeholders involved |
| The President/Prime Minister chooses the Cabinet and can hire and fire them at will | The elected Representatives vote for the Cabinet | The President/Prime Minister currently creates and manipulates a cabinet based on personal and party allegiance to control the desired outcome. This dictatorship has no place in a democracy |
| The party chooses the President/Prime Minister | The elected Repesentatives vote for a President/Prime Minister | A President/Prime Minister must be elected from the whole of government to ensure truly representative and experienced individual/s are chosen as spokesperson |
| The President/Prime Minister is the top parliamentary influencer | The President/Prime Minister is the government spokesperson | A President/Prime Minister should never be permitted to become a disproportionate influencer or dictator. They must represent the government and therefore the people’s view |
| The 2nd House in the U.K. consists of appointed and hereditary members (non-elected) | The 2nd House consists of independent elected members only, with a 4 yearly re-election process, offset with the 1st House elections | The 2nd house ensures that a second layer of rigour and experience is applied to all government decisions so it must not be inhabited by non-elected members who may have conflicts of interest |
| Typically requires considerable wealth or funding to become a visible candidate | Eradicate the need for personal wealth or external sponsors. Candidate visibility to the electorate to be level and equal | Sponsorship must be eradicated to ensure true independence and representation of the people. Personal wealth should never be a requirement to stand as a candidate or to leverage unfair advantage |
| Party & candidate campaigns are heavily funded by stakeholders who are buying influence (big business, the wealthy & the media). Campaigns are presented more as a celebrity game show than the serious business of politics | All candidates submit the same campaign media and all media is available for the public to consume from the same source. No external agencies or candidates are permitted to provide unequal exposure, promotion or biased commentary | Equality in publicity and exposure is paramount for all candidates to ensure there is not unfair advantage or influence |
| Voting is often single stage, heavily influenced by media, rhetoric and sponsorship. It is also open to cheating and corruption via electronic and telephone voting | All voting is 2 stage. 1st stage selects top two candidates. 2nd stage selects the winner. voting is in person only unless medically unable to attend | True democratic representation cannot be achieved if a candidate wins on less than 50% of the overall vote. Two stage process ensures the final candidate has more than 50% of the overall vote. Vote rigging must be eradicated |
| Time permitted for Government debate is manipulated depending on Party, political and sponsor agendas | Government debates to be equally and fairly managed. None should be ruled out, side-lined or manipulated in any way | True democracy cannot exist where a predetermined agenda prevents or derails free and open debate |
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