Why Britain needs a new political alternative...

Recent years have seen multiple minor and major crises, scandals and events that have re-shaped global and UK politics and social cohesion, many of which are explicitly linked, or have acted as catalysts for yet more change. 

A partial list includes:

• COVID-19 and the related lockdowns and ideological disagreements;

• the economic crash of 2008 and resulting Conservative policies of “austerity”;

• the growing impact of climate change;

• accelerated global population growth;

• international conflicts;

• the Brexit referendum (and Brexit itself);

• increased terrorism and political extremism in previously stable countries;

• the response to the rise in discussions and visibility of transgender, transexual, sexual and other identity recognition matters;

• a shift to a “post-truth” approach to political strategy;

• the return of nationalism in politics and policies;

• the flattening of disparities between “developing” and “developed” economies;

• the rise (and in some cases fall) of tech giants and social media;

• the decline of journalistic integrity and neutrality (and print media in general);

• increased immigrations levels;

• ‘Partygate’, SPADs and the rise of anti- or un-democratic politics;

• privatisation and/or under-funding of public utilities and services;

• reduced accountability in politics and public life;

• localised flooding, wildfires and droughts;

• restrictions on rights to, and criminalisation of, some forms of civil protest;

• a growing cohort of pupils that have been marginalised or neglected in the education system;

• the reduced status of public servants such as teachers, civil servants, doctors, nurses and the police

• inflation and the ‘cost of living’ crisis;

• the proliferation of fraud and cybercrime;

• policing scandals;

• increased economic globalisation and corporate power; and

• toxic levels of social and economic inequality.

Some of these are global in nature and can be very hard for any individual nation to influence, some regional, where a greater impact can be made, and some national, which should therefore be a priority for any government to address.

The summary impact of these in the UK has been a general disillusionment with politics, a disconnect between general society and the so called “1%” (actually closer to 0.0001%), simultaneous economic hardship and waste, and a failure to acknowledge and respond to the existential threat that is climate change. Politics has become ever more based on retaining power, satisfying powerful interests and managing the media, while the progress of wider communities and society in general has been deliberately ignored or actively undermined.

Senior politicians and the established parties have failed us, invoking the “will of the people” to justify controversial, unpopular or illogical policies, whilst simultaneously failing to engage in any meaningful consultation or debate.  Manifesto pledges are less faithfully honoured than has ever been the case, Prime Ministers and Ministers are rotated at a rate that means individuals are unable to get a grasp of their brief, or develop a working relationship with civil servants, generating enormous amounts of wasted time and resources.

Valid and constructive criticism from the Opposition, the House of Lords, the media and other stakeholders is dismissed as undemocratic or malevolent, rather than addressed with any semblance of respect and consideration.  His Majesty’s Opposition is unable to fairly hold the government to account in the House of Commons because media bias enabled in part by government interference means they are unfairly editorialised or ignored in reporting; the Prime Minister and Ministers refuse to answer direct questions, or ignore them completely; and policy changes are briefed, “leaked” or announced to the media before the House.

The UK is facing a perilous future, one in which our much-battered and weakened public services, our failing communities, and our children could be abandoned completely to an ethos of “survival of the fittest”, where the “fittest” will always be those groups and families that already hold economic and political power.  After decades of hard fought social progress, this would be an ideological return to serfdom, with an unfettered ruling political and financial elite potentially overseeing a voiceless and therefore inevitably compliant populace.

We need a change in our politics to prevent such a future, and that change must be meaningful and long lasting. Politics needs to be reformed to once again become a tool to serve and improve society.

The policy positions published today by the Social Progress Party do not represent a manifesto.  It is not a commitment to be met within any timescale.  It is an indicative framework that we wish to work towards over time.  Many of the items listed would be ruinous if introduced overnight, many are unrealistic within current financial structures, some may never be achieved, some may not be ambitious enough.  The point is to show the direction in which the party believes UK society would be best served in heading, and to outline our core principles in a tangible way. 

The party hopes to provoke debate, to show that there is an alternative to the estranged politics that the UK currently endures, and possibly, one day, to be given the chance to implement at least some of these policies and to restore social progress as the overriding purpose of British politics.

Politics has been described as the “art of the possible”, and we fundamentally acknowledge this.  Few people will agree with every single element of the ideological framework we propose, but our hope is that enough will that we can be a force for reform and progress, and drive a change in UK politics and society, restoring respect and integrity, encouraging debate and compromise, and ultimately benefitting the needs of the many over the desires of a few.

Too often today it feels as if the electorate is seen as an inconvenience to be managed, and not as the primary source of politicians’ legitimacy and power, and of the public funds that they spend on our behalf. This should not the purpose or basis of UK politics, and it must change.

Our most important aim as a party is to create or restore political transparency and accountability, and through that, public faith in UK political parties and its political process. 

It should not be too much to ask that we understand what we are choosing when we place our vote for the people and parties that will represent us in: international negotiations; creating, amending and enforcing our laws; shaping our society and future; deploying our armed forces; confidential matters of national security; and spending our money.

Through our votes we delegate our decision making to our government and Parliament, so we need to be given clarity of the party principles upon which those delegated decisions will be based. 

This cannot be understood through a narrow list of unaccountable manifesto promises, many of which are subsequently forgotten or diluted, or may be overcome by unexpected events.  The sheer breadth and detail of topics that Parliament has to deal with precludes any party from being able to publish specific policies for every eventuality.  

Instead, we propose that by law all political parties must publish their ‘Core Principles’, and that their policies and behaviour must somehow meaningfully reflect these principles, so that voters can reliably understand how the party and its representatives will most likely behave if elected.  In the case of a coalition government, the compromises necessary would be shaped by these principles, so that no outcome should directly conflict with a published principle of any coalition party.

To illustrate the level of detail and breadth of coverage the published Core Principles should cover, the core principles of the Social Progress Party are published on the home page of this site - we hope you will take the time to review them.