Democracy Rewritten
3 big problems needs 3 big solutions
Oversight, Decentralisation, Proportional Representation
Oversight
As we’ve seen time and time again we find ourselves looking back through years, maybe even decades, of scandal and cover ups to try and determine what happened and who knew. Hindsight is of little use to victims or the public. Especially when there never seems to be any repercussions for the perpetrators.
The solution is obvious, Oversight instead of hindsight, proactive instead of reactive.
So how do we achieve this?
We propose an entirely new department of government. - The Dept of Oversight, Transparency and Archives
The name isn’t important, what matters is what they do.
Every cabinet minister, PM and deputy, maybe even every MP as well as every shadow cabinet member, can easily be issued phones and e-mails that can be monitored periodically, backed up and recorded. We would recommend every phone call be recorded too.
The new department of oversight will have access to any government issued device or account and will archive all communications. With today's technology this would be easily done.
Our suggestion would also be for a member of the oversight department to be present in every meeting and the meeting be at least audibly recorded.
In principle all of this data should be publicly accessible. If they work for you then you have a right to know what they’re up to. However in reality there may be security issues or sensitive information that needs to be redacted before public release. The details of who will be able to review the data is debatable.
At the very least if ministers know every meeting the have and every text they send is being recorded then there’s a deterrent to corrupt behaviour and repercussions will be swift.
In addition to the new department we would allow and encourage members of the shadow cabinet to attend the meeting of their counterpart and have the access to monitor official communications in order to hold their counterparts to account.
Ultimately, No more secrets!
Decentralisation
Under our current system you get ONE vote for a local representative.
Everything else is decided by the party that they belong to. It’s all centred around the ideology/party. They have unilateral control.
This new system takes power aways from centralised government and gives it to the public.Where it belongs.
Not only is this new system democratic but it allows meritocracy to thrive too.
Old
New
The structure of this new system inherently promotes meritocracy instead of cronyism by giving you the power to elect individuals who are qualified and capable instead of just a party leader who then gives his besties the top job jobs.
The new system restricts the depth and spread of corruption by compartmentalising departments. If the PM or any particular minister is found to be fudging the books or acting inappropriately then you have the power to replace an individual or two rather than needing to completely overthrow a corrupt government. Combined with the new level of oversight we’re proposing any corruption can be dealt with swiftly.
But for us, the biggest benefit is the unprecedented level of flexibility it provides.
Each ideology may well have its up sides but, as explained on our problem page, no single ideology will have all the answers.
This new system lets us apply different solutions for different problems without undoing progress made in other areas.
This is the difference between centralised government and decentralisation.
Proportional Representation
There’s already groups and organisations that are advocating for a change to voting practises and significant public demand as well.
It is well established that First Past the Post is a terrible method of voting if you want to find consensus or reach an acceptable agreement.
There seems to be little doubt that almost any other voting method would be an improvement but the key to unlocking the true potential of proportional representation is to remove the ‘winner takes all’ element, which we have done by decentralisation.
So while we’re unlocking the power of democracy why not update to a superior voting system too.
Once again voting practises are better explained by the experts at the Electoral Reform Society or if you’ve done enough reading here’s another video from CGP Grey that explains the Single Transferable Vote.
Using a more complicated voting method will come with practical, logistical challenges, especially when combined with our new system that has many more positions that you have a vote for.
But with an increasingly digital world and the improved oversight that we’ve suggested it’s well within our capabilities to implement a voting system that can deliver the most comprehensively democratic society.