We have a system in place where it is technically possible for anyone registered as a Voter and living in the UK can stand as a Candidate for Election to Parliament.
This would be restriction enough, if it were not for the way that the system works.
In reality, it is very near impossible for any person to get elected to Parliament without being a Member of a Political Party, being selected as a Candidate and then being nominated by that Party to represent them in an Election for a specific Seat.
Regrettably, with the way that Politics has been working in this Country, this reality has meant that the real choice of who will or will not represent us in Parliament as our MPs is the choice of the Party that wins the Seat. Because whilst the system works on the basis that we elect the individual representative or MP, it is a habit of ours to Vote for the Party instead.
If the existing Political Parties are serious about system reform, they must adopt a different approach to the way that they select their Candidates for Parliament, putting what’s best for us as the end aim and result.
This will involve prioritisng Candidates who have the life experience and wherewithal that will benefit others, not just help the Party to secure Seats.
A Good system for the Political Parties to qualify Candidates might be:
A minimum age requirement that Candidates are 30 years of age or older .
That Candidates have at least 8 years professional experience that has included demonstrable supervisory and/or management experience as well as experience as an employee at junior/team level.
That Candidates have served a minimum of one full term as a Town or Parish Councillor.
That Candidates have served a minimum of one full term as a Borough/District and/or County level Councillor.
That Candidates have fought and won at least one election at local level .
That Candidates have held officer level responsibility within a community, social or student organisation
That Candidates can demonstrate a vocational calling to represent others selflessly and provide a voice for those who cannot or choose not to speak publicly on issues of pubic policy themselves.
Politics isn’t just broken. The whole Political System has lost its way, and most of the problem is because of the way that Politicians think about what they do.
Everything in Politics has become about the ‘quick win’.
That’s pulling the white rabbits out of the hat that have the desired effect of grabbing Voters attention drawing their focus away from what’s really going on whilst catalyzing support.
The whole approach is very shallow. It is all about dealing with the effects of problems rather than dealing with the causes. Worse still, there is very little consideration for the impact of Public Policy beyond the scope of whatever the plan has been put in place to address.
The result is that problems affecting often many more parts of society than just the one that ha been targeted by a policy change are created or made worse, whilst the solutions put in place don’t ever last in any meaningful or useful way.
Like putting a plaster on a leg break, Public Policy requires Politicians to do considerably more than they do.
Compromise is not something that should ever be necessary when Public Policy is being created for the right reasons and nobody is focusing on the wrong priorities such as if something doesn’t work out as it should, who then gets the blame.
Joined up thinking is now essential as a part of how every policy is reviewed or how every one is made. There must be consideration and action taken to address the root causes, the effects whilst they continue and then the consequences no matter how far reaching they might be, once any new policy has been implemented and the changes have been made.
Localism became a fashionable term during the Coalition years under David Cameron. Yet the Localism that we thought it was and the localism that it actually was are two very different things.
Like many of the miss-sold and misrepresented ideas about what serves the Public interest, such concepts are presented through sound bites that are cleverly constructed to give the impression that they will take giant leaps towards some form of natural justice. But they don’t.
For example, the creation of the Office of Police and Crime Commissioners and Metropolitan Mayoralties was offered to us as giving power back to local areas.
Yes, they give the appearance of bringing more money in to benefit ‘local’ areas. But this take on giving power back to the People is a dubious representation at best.
Worse still, instead of bringing power back to us, it has instead focused existing power away from Local Government and the decision makers who are closest to us, instead transferring it into the hands of one, rather than a number and range of different local Politicians.
Many People do not realise that there four different tiers of Government in this Country. (Five If you were to Count the European Parliament too)
From the lowest to the ‘top’, they are Parish & Town Councils, Borough & District Councils, County Councils (Unitary Authorities can include all of the responsibilities of the above) and Parliament or Central Government itself.
As in Westminster, party politics plays a significant role throughout these tiers of Government and we have the very same problems with Politicians at a local level as we do in London.
Far too many local Politicians are motivated by self-interest, pursuing their own interests and furthering their own or particular causes.
In many ways, political injustice at local level can have an even more damaging impact upon our lives. Because the decisions taken by bodies such as Planning and Licensing Committees can and do make changes to the environment that we experience within our lives, every day.
When local decisions are not taken in our best interests – as is all too often the case – the cost for us all can be severely high.
Federalism and the model of devolved decision making that the EU promotes is even worse. It gives the lie to this injustice and abuse of democracy even further.
Together, the real workings and methodology of Central and EU government has implemented a set of rules that are so tight, that so-called decision making and democracy at local level is no more than a tick-box exercise for the local government officers and Politicians involved.
Removing the rot in Politics and getting good people into political roles where they will really fight our corner, would make an immediate difference to how decisions are made locally. It would make life much better for everyone involved.
The difference that could and should be made by good central Government – once we have removed the influence of the EU once and for all, will be to give our influence and responsibility back to us and put back as much decision making into the hands of local politicians and representatives who we have genuine access to and know.
There will always be policies and responsibilities that need to be accounted for at a higher and more appropriate level.
But that doesn’t mean Politicians at the ‘top’ should be the only ones with real or meaningful control.
The reality is that today, the buck stops in London and in Brussels for far too many decisions. Laws are simply interpreted at local level – a process that leads to much misunderstanding and frustration for local People and locally minded Politicians that really don’t have the responsibility and influence on issues that are most pertinent to them – no matter what they are being told.
Getting decision making back to local government and as close to the People as possible is an essential part of creating a genuine feeling of community, re-enfranchisement and that we can have real and meaningful influence on the world around us.
A Good Government could begin giving us genuine localism by:
Overseeing a clean, secure and permanent Exit from the EU .
Abolish the roles of so-called Metro-Mayors and transfer their powers back to more local control .
Abolish the roles of Police & Crime Commissioners, re-establishing the local Committee structure whilst taking measures to ensure that political influence is kept at the minimum and that Committee Members are drawn from outside privileged and insider networks.
Reverse all processes of centralisation within the Tiers of Government and/or restructure to ensure that decision making and influence is structured and administered in such a way that the emphasis is always upon the quality of service and experience of end-users – always ensuring that it is as accessible as possible, rather than simply being about money, the decision makers and the officers involved.
Return the final point of decision making to the level most near to Voters and only use frameworks as a guide unless there are very specific rules such as the minimum drinking age involved.
De-centralise powers that have been given to unelected and unaccountable bodies such as the Highways and Environment Agencies. Create more localised umbrella organisations where it is absolutely necessary to facilitate joined-up thinking, but above all ensure that no decision can be taken arbitrarily by any bureaucrat without local representation having genuine influence in the process and if necessary having a veto over changes to or that will affect local infrastructure or property.
One of the most challenging aspects of changing politics for good, is for each and every one of us to accept that change on this scale is about everyone being prepared and accepting of changing their own views inwardly and not just expecting everything outside of them to be the people or things that have to adjust.
The world we live in is a place where everything is relative and whilst we look at everything in terms of wealth and the power that people have, the values underpinning all of this are fundamentally the same for us all.
In this sense there is little difference between bankers exploiting the housing market, to a union rep calling a strike to push for unsustainable levels of pay.
It’s simply the toys that look and feel different, whilst innocent third parties are always going to get hurt along the way.
Put into context, there are few of us who cannot appreciate that there is value in thinking differently, whether it be over a few pounds a week, or over multi-million Pound empires that might be under our control.
But saying and doing things differently are themselves very different things.
And if we want to change the world around us for the better and gain benefits from a much fairer and balanced system in the longer term, we must accept that there will be sacrifices to make, but sacrifices that are really just ideas and feelings about what could be, because the benefits for the future will quickly outweigh what feels like the immediate cost.
To be different and have different lives, we must all think differently about the things that we do.
Yes, we deserve to have Leaders who will show us the way not through words but by action, giving us an inspirational example that will illuminate our learning and light the path along the way.
But the change that we want will begin when we see that change as being the difference between now and where we want to be.
Everyone quietly knows and has known for a long time, long before Brexit, that something is and has been wrong with British Politics.
Because of the relationship that we all have with Government and Politicians, we have simply accepted that this is just the way that things are.
Yet Brexit opened a doorway. Not just to removing the shackles of the EU and Leaving it behind, but to also shining a light on everything that is has been rotten with our Politics.
We now know and understand that this old politics has to go and be replaced with something NEW.
The old politics is synonymous with everything bad about self-interest.
Like a cuckoo invading the nest of another bird, the old politics has slowly an insidiously taken over every part of or democratic system.
Its effect has been amplified through the manipulation and exploitation of the Political Party system, furthering the interests of people and politicians who only ever see their interests as being combined together as one.
The old politics is what gave birth to the phrase ‘career politician’.
It has created a situation where Politics is not a calling or public responsibility. It is merely an opportunity for furthering the interests of the politicians. It is to them no more than an income, a step to advancement. What most people recognise as the basis of a job.
To be free of the problems that led to Brexit, restore our democracy and then move forward in a confident, beneficial and measured way, we must now end the grip of the old politics on all parts of Government and the Public Sector.
It’s time to manage Public Services and the things that we share in common in a much more community minded, forward looking, considerate, consequence based and emotionally intelligent way.
Adam Tugwell 