Unified Democracy – Previous Overview

Why Unify Our Democracy?

Since the 1980s, adversarial politics has increasingly and visibly struggled to meet the needs of our increasingly complex highly-integrated society — becoming inward‑facing, short‑termist, and driven more by party political imperatives rather than for public benefit. Promises rarely delivered, instability now the norm.

As public trust in politics consequently collapses — characterised by the rapid turnover of ministers and evident in the growing socioeconomic consequences — Unified Democracy offers a stable, future‑focused, fully-specified and practicable breakout from the UK’s cycle of politically-driven decline. Countering short‑termism and strengthening strategic competence and policy formation bandwidth, to drive sustained socioeconomic renewal.

A new benchmark of cooperative governance — leveraging the skills of our society to employ them to delver their greatest potential -within government itself. Promoting domestic and international peer-to-peer coordination for challenges characterised by growing inequity, the economic and militaristic consequences of geopolitical powershifts, pandemics and climate change.

How Unified Democracy Works

Unified Democracy restructures both General Elections and Policy Formation to deliver stability and properly-informed policy on a platform of ongoing strategic continuity. The essential ingredients of restoring public confidence.

General Elections Under Unified Democracy

Elections will take longer than the 1‑day “winner‑takes‑all” system we have become used to – maximizing the potential for enduring benefits – whilst minimising socioeconomic risks. To achieve this, they are held in 3 stages.

Stage 1  – MPs & PM Elected – Legislature (House of Commons) Established.

Citizens elect 650 MPs as they do today – those MPs attending The Commons. The PM then simply appointed as the Leader of the Party with the Highest Popular Vote.

Stage 2 – Politicians Elected & UK Policy Council Established

The Policy Council runs strategically continuously across Administrations to meet the policy objectives of each elected Cabinet.  It consists both of Politicians (who set and debate the policies of their party) and Sector Representatives from Advisory, Representative and Regulatory Bodies – to provide real-world policy expertise.

A total of 260 Politicians is proposed (an average of 20 across 13 sectors) – most also being MPs and attending The Commons. For example, if the Greens win 50 MP seats with 10% of the popular vote, they would have 26 Politician Seats in the Policy Council (their 26 candidates achieving the highest share of their constituency vote).

Stage 3 – Cabinet & Executive Established

Within The Policy Council, Politicians and Sector Representatives form equal-size teams called “Sector Management Groups” – one per sector (Healthcare etc).

Each SMG then elects the Politician they believe is best qualified as Group Leader – he/she then also becoming the related Cabinet Minister.  The Cabinet would therefore likely consist of Ministers from different Parties – each elected as having the highest level of capability. All reporting to the previously elected Prime Minister.

Forming Policy Under Unified Democracy

The Executive is not vested with the power to impose policy top‑down (except in emergencies) – its role now being to ensure the efficient running of government.

To achieve this, it establishes each Parliamentary Agenda (based on the policies people voted for) and defines the associated requirements for Bills. It then adjusts SMG resourcing accordingly and passes Bill requirements to the Policy Council.

The Policy Council then debates policy and passes its Draft Bills down to the Legislature (House of Commons) for constituent‑based debate.

The House of Commons informs the UK Policy Council of the needs of their constituents to assist in the drafting of policy. It then debates the resultant Draft Bills on behalf of their constituents, requests reworks and votes to form law.

The House of Lords will continue in its current role (mainly as an advisory body). However, no new Lords would be appointed – wound-down by natural wastage.

The 8 Key Benefits of Democratic Transition

1. Rebalanced Power & Reduced Risk.  Our democracy, economy and lives will no longer be reliant on the day-to-day views of a few all‑powerful individuals.

2. Citizen Refocussed Government.  From power‑jostling to a cooperative meritocracy focused on national needs and ongoing strategic continuity. With the capability to form policy expertly and concurrently across all 13 sectors.

3. Capable Ministers. Peer‑elected as the most capable leaders in their sectors; countering “best fits” from within a narrow Cabinet and political cronyism.

4. Countering Political Dogma. Ensuring sectors are run in the most cost-efficient way — public, private or hybrid — based on evidence rather than ideology.

5. Public Accountability, Clear centres of responsibility for policy within each sector of our economy and for the day-to-day performance of related institutions.

6 Alignment of Education Policies A planned economy will promote policies to meet evolving sector needs, improve job opportunities and drive economic growth.

7. Renewed Global Influence. By again becoming a democratic exemplar, the UK will elevate its global standing – supporting UK businesses in driving economic growth.

8. Knowledge‑Driven International Cooperation. Sector‑level expertise and reduced domestic power imperatives will promote direct peer‑to‑peer cooperation on increasing global challenges – such as for pandemics and climate change.

Join Our Movement

If you believe the UK needs a transformation in how it is governed for a sustainable future, join our movement by completing the form below. Share our message with friends, family and colleagues — so we can build an understanding of a democracy that better serves us, our children and generations to come. To help build a level of public support for which government would need to respond.