Tuesday 28 September 2021

Puncturing the Westminster bubble.

 Observing the odd report of the Labour conference in Brighton who could seriously conclude from those present, the politicians, assorted platform speakers and people in the audience,  that they speak for the public at large?

This questions becomes even more apt when you consider Angela Rayner, their Deputy Leader considers, in effect, that all Conservative politicians and by implication all their supporters are scum. 

The trouble with our current political system is that the views of the public at large are not getting through to our MPs. I know they are forever reminding us that they are kept in touch by their constituency surgeries but in reality, they only get to meet a vocal minority with specific problems while the views of the vast majority are seldom brought or get to their attention. It could not be clearer, over recent years, that our politicians seldom if ever speak for the people they represent.

The problems start with the need, for anyone considering a career in politics, to join a party and become part of the ‘tribe’ and accept their mantras for without the support of a party machine the chances of getting elected as an independent or member of a new party are very slim. Adopting the ‘party-line’, from the start of a political career, means fresh ideas are not getting into the political arena which does of course presume that prospective candidates once had fresh ideas in the first place! For example, if a new politician is an ardent climate sceptic he or she would have to suppress their views for fear of jeopardise their career prospects. As Bernard Shaw said: ‘He knows nothing; he thinks he knows everything – that clearly points to a political career!’

So, our system of governance will only be reformed when our politicians have to seriously take into account the views of the majority which is what our six demands set out to do. Our first demand requires that the people's inherent sovereignty is recognised and from this the other demands flow.  Demand two, ‘Real Local Democracy’, would allow constituents to agree the level of pay of their MPs and set up a procedure for recall between elections if they so desired. Demand three, ‘Separation of Powers’, would enable the whole of Parliament to keep the executive in check with demands four and five giving the people real power to reject or approve the government’s proposed legislation and annual taxation requirements. Finally demand six pulls everything together in a new codified constitution.

When enacted, the six demands of The Harrogate Agenda would really reform our current system of governance by ensuring new systems were in place to allow the views of the majority to be heard when so desired and also the mechanisms to say no to government legislation with which the majority disagreed. Our Agenda allows the oxygen of populism to puncture the Westminster bubble allowing fresh ideas to enter the system from the people for the people.

2 comments:

  1. Add to your analysis the fact that many politicians come straight out of university into politics. At least some Labourites have some real world experience, but judging from conference, not very much.

    I admire your hope for reform but as I have said before, I believe the system is beyond reform. One of those destructive events, that will upset the apple cart, might be just around the corner. I note that the US Infrastructure bill is having trouble even getting introduced to Congress. As West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin said about the trillions of dollars in extra spending that it was “fiscal insanity,”.

    Also I read that: "The US is nerve-janglingly close to defaulting on its $28 trillion debt, with 19 days to go until the Treasury Department exhausts its ability to obtain new loans." (digital-journal)

    If the US Treasury does fail to obtain new loans, the shock waves will be huge, throughout the world economic "house of cards" fiscal system.

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  2. The reform of our governance contained in our six demands accepts the system is beyond reform so we plan a clean sweep in every area to end up with virtually a new system.

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