How to Win the Next General Election

UPDATED 05/2023

Tories need to be gotten rid of, for the next couple of generations ideally - but I'll settle for the next 3/4 election cycles. But first, they need to be displaced. These are, in my opinion, the manifesto promises and policies that should do it:

  1. Proportional Representation - this should be a no-brainer. And should be done without a needless, baited plebiscite. AV or STV would be my personal choices, but I'm by no means the expert. All I do know is, FPTP benefit the Tories, and only the Tories.
  2. OffMin - I've mentioned this idea before, but I think the behaviour seen by Johnson and his cabinet now virtually demand an Office of Ministerial Responsibility. An almost sister agency to the OBR, this would need to be independent of both government, parliament, and other public bodies, as its function is to be, amongst other roles, the arbiter of the Ministerial Code. It would place checks and balances on what would be considered proper behaviour from our elected officials, and be able to enact actual punitive measures against them, beyond just forcing them to resign their seats.
  3. Increased devolution - and I don't just mean to Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, I mean across England, too. Far too much of UK politics is focused on London and the South-East, and has been for a long time. This isn't even a measure to save the Union, this is a measure to restore actual, meaningful democracy, opportunity, and investment across these isles.
  4. Constitutional Inquiry - another thing hat has become blatantly clear over the past few years is the weakness in not having a written constitution - how easily abused it and our system of politics is when controlled by those with no clue what service or honour mean. I'm not saying that ultimately a written constitution is best - gods know the issue the US seems to have with theirs - but we do need a full review into ours, what changes need to be made, what values it should reflect etc. It should also be used to redress the balance of power across the Union as well, including what should be done if independence was demanded by any constituent country. It should also look at modernising the second chamber.
  5. EDIT: One more has really come to light since I first published this: All rights under ECHR/UNCHR preserved and restored - including the right to protest "noisily".

2nd Edit:

  1. Removal of Voter ID requirement
  2. Voting age down to 16 - No taxation without representation
  3. Tougher sanctions on private entities in public sector who are underperforming/acting against public interest (see water companies, train operating companies, energy companies) - in clearer terms, get rid of the pay-play (fines) model.
  4. Moratorium on external "management consultants" inside the NHS and other public bodies (yes, I'm looking especially at you here McKinsey)

Bonus policies:

  1. Pathway to Europe - this isn't me demanding a complete return to the EU here, don't make that mistake. Regardless of whatever I think there, it should be abundantly clear to anyone by now that the handling of Brexit has done severe damage to the UK economy as a whole, and that will only get worse. We've also failed miserably to gain any meaningful trade deals around the world. The EU is one of the largest trading blocks in the world, and we are on the outside - we need a pathway to better trade with out neighbours.

You can promise whatever moon shot ideas you want after that, but if Labour, or a Labour-involved coalition, want to get anywhere near power again in the next GE, this is what they have to do.


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