We do not have leaders we have managers.There is no inspiration, no vision, no romantics left anymore in politics. Democracy is at the mercy of party political machinery which I turn are beholden to self-motivated vested interests.
We do not have leaders we have managers.There is no inspiration, no vision, no romantics left anymore in politics. Democracy is at the mercy of party political machinery which I turn are beholden to self-motivated vested interests.
The way to revive our political system is to loosen the party system. The whip system doesn’t strengthen governments, it strengthens political parties. Strong government is representative government that which is closest to the people it serves.
The motivation for entering political life should not be to realise a career path but a passion to serve one’s community and country. Political life must equate with service above self. Parliamentarians should be encouraged to think outside of the box even to disagree with their political party.
If politics in the UK is to be truly representative then we need more members of parliament who are disabled, or single mothers, or living on council estates. The political establishment is dominated by career politicians who have little experience of the daily struggles of everyday people. What it means to struggle to make ends meet, to start a small business, in fact life at street level.
Suppressing the whip system will give politicians more freedom to agree with political opponents. We need to go beyond ideological entrenchment. A system of things based on right and wrong, rather than left, right or centre.
It’s time for a different kind of politics. A realignment of national, even international priorities. Which ordinary person in the UK would rather spend £50 billion plus on the HS2 rail link to speed up train journeys by a few minutes rather than on the NHS? The political classes are increasingly isolated from the aspirations of the people. The answer is more direct democracy, more popular participation via Swiss style referenda. Give people the right to choose on a plethora of issues from grammar schools to how the NHS should be run. The prospect of giving people real choice over what happens in their communities would restore the belief that people are participating in politics. That what they want matters.
Current popular perception is that Westminster politicians make promises at election time which are never fulfilled. Ongoing referenda throughout the parliamentary term means government must remain directly accountable and responsive to the people. And in turn the people engaged in the political process which is ultimately there to serve them not self-interested politicians stoked up by vested interests which are remote from the binoculars of the electorate.
By : Andrew Charalambous
