A new Magna Carta for the promotion of true Democracy in the 21st Century

Proposed framework for the implementation of a Political System within the United Kingdom (or indeed any other country that has a democratic Government) where the Expectations and Aspirations of the People can be realised

Executive Summary

Provided below is a proposal for a change in the parliamentary procedures which if implemented would result in a system of Democracy within the United Kingdom where the relationship between the politicians and the People is put on a formal basis and provides a framework were all ambiguity on the role, responsibility, powers and the provisions that are to be provided by the Elected Political Party (Government) and the Opposition Parties are removed and in so doing ensures the political parties of the day addresses the People of the United Kingdom, expectations and aspirations. Or put simply a new Magna Carta for the promotion of true Democracy in the 21st Century.

The current situation with regard to political activities within the United Kingdom as demonstrated over recent events is that a political party can limit its commitments to promises what it thinks the People of the United Kingdom are looking for on a minimum number of issues without addressing the full provision of Public Services, then once in office can change, amend or indeed ignore such promises and then impose what it wants with impunity. This results from the fact that the People of the United Kingdom have no information or context of what encompasses the full aspects of the Public Services being provided or what the policies being proposed by the various political parties will have on current or future Public Service provisions. As such the People of the United Kingdom cannot scrutinise nor ascertain what impact any actions by the Elected Political Party (Government) is or could have on any other element of the provision of Public Services. Therefore the People of the United Kingdom cannot engage in the political debate or bring the Elected Political Party (Government) to account for its action as there is no local, departmental or global information on which the actions of the Elected Political Party (Government) can be benchmarked against. The whole political system within the United Kingdom could well be described as one of smoke and mirrors.

The intent of the proposal is to put in place a framework in which a clear transparent political system can be implemented in which the People of the United Kingdom can determine what each political party is proposing to offer in terms of the full extent of Public Services during the next parliament, based on the policies and finances that exist at the time of the election. The manifesto of each political party will become the basis of a legally binding contract between the successful political party in terms of its appointed MP’s and the People of the United Kingdom. The manifesto will be in a format that provides the basis of the political party’s intentions with provision for this contract to be annulled should it transpire the Elected Political Party (Government) cannot meet its commitments as set out in the manifesto. As the proposal will become a formal legal contract between the Elected Political Party (Government) and the People of the United Kingdom, then should either the Elected Political Party (Government) or any of the Opposition Parties fail to comply with the letter or spirit of the proposal as defined herein, then such failure shall be considered an act of duplicity against the People of the United Kingdom and as such will carry a mandatory 2 year prison sentence which could extend to all appointed MP’s of the party in default of its obligations.

The 25 Elements that make up a new Magna Carta for the promotion of true Democracy in the 21st Century

Preparation of a report on prevailing Public Services and Finances
1. The new Chief Executive of the civil service will in conjunction with all Government Department Heads create a single comprehensive document with a date line set two or three months before the date of an election that provides the prevailing status of the United Kingdom Public Services which shall include income, expenditure, commitments, liabilities, services being provided (whether mandatory or has through time or commitment become a service the people have come to expect), manning levels, maximum and minimum wages (with supporting explanation for all payments above £100,000 per year). The document shall also include all current policy obligations and requirements both nationally and internationally addressing such public concerns as immigration, Europe, European Referendum, devolution, deficit reduction, interest rates on loans, NHS provisions, energy, petrol etc. This information shall be provided on a Departmental basis which shall then be incorporated into an overall financial statement of the United Kingdom’s current income, expenditure, commitments and liabilities.
2. Failure by the new Chief Executive of the civil service or individual Departmental Heads to provide an accurate and robust document of the status of the United Kingdom Public Services at the time of the election in terms of policy, services and finances shall be deemed an act of duplicity against the People of the United Kingdom and as such will carry a mandatory 2 year prison sentence.
3. This document prepared by the new Chief Executive shall form the basis of all political parties’ manifestoes.

Basis for Appointment of an Elected Political Party (Government)
4. The manifesto of each political party shall take as its baseline the information provided by the new Chief Executive to which the political parties shall then amend to include their proposed changes to each element of the services being provided that meets their political agendas. Each political party shall determine the effect such amended provisions will have on income and expenditure for each individual Department and then collate this information into an overall financial statement for the provision of public services for the term of the next parliament. The revised information (manifesto) shall be broken down into the 5 year period of the next parliament and in so doing provide a clear illustration of the public services that each political party will be providing on a year by year basis over the term of the next parliament.
5. Given the intent is for the People of the United Kingdom to consider the various manifestoes and vote on the one that best meets their expectations and aspirations then the party who is elected will not as is currently operated be on a “first past the post” basis, but will be the party that has obtained the most MP’s (alternatively it could be the MP’s from the political party which obtain the highest number of votes). In any event the Elected Political Party (Government) will be a single party which has either obtained the largest number of MP’s or votes and can therefore be deemed to have achieved the support and approval from the majority of People within the United Kingdom to their manifesto. This will negate the situation were one elected party has failed to obtain an outright majority with the result that a coalition of various Elected Political Parties is formed with a botched up manifesto agreed behind closed doors by the various elected parties that the People of the United Kingdom have not considered or voted upon.

Legally binding contract between the Elected Political Party (Government) and the People of the United Kingdom
6. As the manifesto of each political party will provide a realistic and workable framework which allows the People of the United Kingdom to determine what each political party is proposing to offer during the next parliament based on the policies and finances that exist at the time of the elections then the manifesto shall form the basis of a legally binding contract between the successfully Elected Political Party in terms of its appointed MP’s and the People of the United Kingdom.

Role of the Elected Political Party (Government)
7. The Elected Political Party once appointed shall form the new Government and shall limit its activities to the supply of provisions by the Public Services strictly in accordance with the income, expenditure, commitments, liabilities, services being provided, manning levels, maximum and minimum wages; with policy statements in terms of immigration, Europe, European Referendum, devolution, deficit reduction, interest rates on loans, NHS provisions, energy, petrol etc as set out in its manifesto.
8. As the manifesto of the Elected Political Party becomes the governing document on which the Elected Political Party will provide its public services for the coming parliament then all changes to the provision including existing services, increased wages or provision of new policies or services shall be in strict compliance with the information provided within the Elected Political Parties manifesto including maintaining the cost provisions stated.
9. Should the Elected Political Party deviate from the public services stated within its manifesto or exceed the costs provisions stated for the public services (all as set out in Items 23 to 25) and then proceeds to conceal such deviations from the People of the United Kingdom and the Independent Committee then such deviation shall be deemed an act of duplicity against the People of the United Kingdom and as such will carry a mandatory 2 year prison sentence.

Role of the Opposition Parties
10. The role of the Opposition Parties shall be limited to interrogating the detail proposal of the Elected Political Party before implementation taking account the information contained within the Elected Political Parties manifesto and provide within the framework of the Elected Political Parties manifesto alternative that either provide a better service or is more cost effective. The opposition shall not criticise or make any negative remarks surrounding the provisions if such provisions are provided for within the Elected Political Parties manifesto as such provisions have been approved by the People of the United Kingdom and therefore the Elected Political Party has a legal duty to provide such provisions.
11. Given that deviation from the Elected Political Parties manifesto is not permitted then there is no requirement for the House of Commons to vote on new laws as any changes in Public Service provisions will only be those as stipulated within the contracted manifesto with the People of the United Kingdom and as such are automatically endorsed by the People of the United Kingdom. Accordingly the current role of the Opposition Parties will change from that of proposing only negative views or what they could do better for one section of the community or another without addressing the consequences to other sections of the community or the country’s finances.
12. It will no long be acceptable for the Opposition Parties to act in an unconstructive manner, seeking media attention. Instead the role of the Opposition Parties will be to review the actions and proposal of the Elected Political Party to ensure they are being implemented to obtain the best results as stipulated in the Elected Political Party manifesto for the People of the United Kingdom.
13. Should any Opposition Party during the life of the parliament openly opposes the Elected Political Party implementation of any provisions within the Elected Political Parties manifesto then such opposition shall be deemed an act of duplicity against the People of the United Kingdom and as such will carry a 2 year mandatory prison sentence.
14. No political party is permitted to raise any issues outside the manifesto of the Elected Political Party unless an election has been called and such issues are being debated within the period between calling the election and the election date. In essence the current situation where the Opposition Parties can criticise, complaint and put forward alternatives without any substance or consequence on the provision of other public services will be considered an act of duplicity against the People of the United Kingdom which will carry a mandatory 2 year prison sentence.

Independent Assessment
15. An Independent Committee shall be established which will monitor the activities of the Elected Political Party and report on a month basis the progress being achieved in supplying the public services against the approved requirements as set out in Elected Political Parties manifesto. The report shall also provide progress on the implementation of any policies and services and included a comprehensive cost comparison of the targets set and those being achieved.
16. The report will be factual and highlight any areas of concerns or areas were deviation from the Elected Political Parties manifesto could result and a default situation occurs (as set out in Items 23 to 25) if correction action is not implemented.
17. The report shall be published in the public domain in order that all political parties and the People of the United Kingdom are aware of the status of the public services and the public finances.
18. Failure by the Independent Committee to provide the report by the due date or provide sufficient or accurate benchmarking shall be deemed an act of duplicity against the people of the United Kingdom and as such will carry a mandatory 2 year prison sentence.

Unplanned and Crisis Events
19. It is inevitable that unplanned events will occur during the time of a parliament. Accordingly, a detailed response which addresses the specifics of such events cannot be provided within the approved manifesto but provision can be incorporated within the manifesto to outline how such an unplanned event will be handled and the steps that will be taken to address the issue.
20. Events that can be classified as unplanned include, major terrorism attacks, overseas military action, various financial crises, health epidemic, environmental incidents and infrastructure failure. In the event of such an occurrence the Elected Political Party will take all appropriate steps to manage the event. As soon as it is practical the Elected Political Party will provide the Independent Committee with full details of the action taken and the effects such actions will have on the approved manifesto.
21. The Independent Committee will assess the impact of the actions taken to address the unplanned event and determine if the actions taken to address the event can be accommodated within the approved Elected Political Parties manifesto or if the consequences create a substantial increase in expenditure or reduction in revenue which renders the provisions as set out in the manifesto unworkable.
22. Throughout the period of the unplanned event the Opposition Parties will work with the Elected Political Party to provide support and clear strategic proposals in order that all risks can be identified and the most effective way of addressing the event and its consequences can be achieved to the benefit of the People of the United Kingdom.

Termination of Elected Political Party (Government)
23. Termination of the Elected Political Party (Government) time in office shall take effect after the expiration of the term of the parliament unless one of the following events occurs.
i. The target budget costs for the supply of five individual Departments sector of the public services increases above the set limit of the manifesto by 10% in each case; and/or
ii. The overall budget cost for the supply of the public services increases above the set limit of the manifesto by 5%; and/or
iii. The deficit for the provision of the public services increase above the set limit of the manifesto by 5% for three consecutive months
iv. The actions taken by the Elected Political Party during an unplanned event has resulted in an increase in expenditure that cannot be supported without an increase in public borrowing in excess of 5% in the long term (12 months).
v. The Independent Committee concludes the costs incurred as a direct result of the actions taken by the Elected Political Party in addressing an unplanned event renders the manifesto unworkable
24. If any of the above events materialise then an election will be called by the Independent Committee.
25. The date for the election will be the end of the parliamentary term or three months from the date of termination by the Independent Committee as set out above with the latest report by the Independent Committee forming the base document on which all political parties shall base their new manifestoes for consideration by the People of the United Kingdom for the next parliament.