Under Unified Democracy, we would vote only for an MP to represent our Constituency (either Party or Independent) exactly as we do today.

However, in contrast to our current single system of representation, Unified Democracy is a a hybrid one – Citizens represented by elected MPs, Political Parties by elected Politicians (proportionate to the overall popular vote), and Economic Sectors (Healthcare, Energy etc), represented by appointed Sector Representatives.

Representation Concept

Unified Democracy is based first and foremost on the need for informed and stable strategic continuity. Based on the principle that if we have a marriage that makes us happy, we must do nothing to jeopardise it. On the other hand, if we aren’t, then we must act in a quick, well-informed and low-risk way to get our life back on track.

So Representation works in a completely different way to our current “winner take all” system – where everything can suddenly change every 5 years in unpredictable, high-risk ways. There no longer being the concept of a “Fixed Term Parliament” .

So, under Unified Democracy, political representation evolves as it needs to – individuals in each Tier needing the confidence of the one below it to hold it in place. So, if Constituents loose confidence in their MP, they can decide re-elect a replacement. Most Ministers are elected by the Policy Council – that can then re-elect a replacement if and when they think it necessary.

General Elections are therefore held only when the Prime Minister steps down, or The People (as represented by Politicians, Policy Experts and MPs), feel that a change of Leader becomes needed –at any interval between 2 and 10 years.

When a General Election is called, Parties then produce manifestos in a pre-set format to assist voter choice. Not as “hard and fast” policies or “pledges”- but as sets of proposals – not necessarily for everything – but only for those sectors (Healthcare, etc), where they believe change is required.

General Election Process

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 as described below.

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 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 also attending The Commons. In addition, a total of 240 Sector Representatives ise proposed (an average of 20 across 11 sectors).

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).

With the exception of the SMGs for the Home Office and Foreign Office, each SMG then elects the Politician they believe is best qualified as its 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 available capability in that sector.

The Prime Minister would then appoint his/her chosen Chancellor, Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and any required Junior Ministers of choice. However, all Ministers appointed would now be required to be elected Politicians, rather than ordinary MPs .

In parliamentary terms, Government is then formed simply by all the elected Parliamentary Parties – each with a real voice in shaping policy, (concepts of “Party in Power”, “Opposition”, “Parliamentary Majority” and “Party Whips” now redundant). The influence of each Party now directly proportional to its popular vote – as reflected by its number of Politicians.

How MPs and Politicians Are Elected

MPs (650 in the UK) are elected exactly as they are now, and attend The Commons. Although most candidates would likely be fielded by political parties, their role becomes purely to represent their Constituents (rather than party policy).

How Politicians Are Elected

Politicians (proposed as 260 in the UK – an average of 20 across 13 Sectors) are more senior than ordinary MPs – thereby providing a career path based more on capability than on who they know. However they have more essential full-time work to do – so would not be permitted to have other paid employment.

Politicians are elected to represent and form the policies of their particular Political Party (no longer the sole domain of the party leadership). and to argue their case within the UK Policy Council.  They are those Candidate MPs that achieved the highest percentages of their Constituency Vote -as a proportion of their Party’s overall Popular Vote.  Politicians are therefore also MPs in most cases.

For example, if the Greens won 50 Constituencies with 10% of the Popular Vote, they would have 50 MPS attending The Commons and 26 Politicians (10% of 260) attending the UK Policy Council. Most of those Politicians would also have been elected MPs – so would attend both the Policy Council and The Commons.

On the run-up to each General Election, Parties provisionally assign their politicians to debate policy (for the production of manifestos), based on poll projections. But these are obviously changed in accordance with the actual poll.

Elected Independent MPs would not be able to become Politicians, (attending only The Commons). So to qualify as such, would be required to group to form and register a Political Party to contest future elections.

How Sector Representatives Are Appointed

By a branch of the Executive called The Cabinet Office.  This office establishes  resourcing needs in accordance with each Parliamentary Agenda and then liaises with Representative, Regulatory and Advisory bodies within each sector to invite parliamentary representation on behalf of their particular organization. Sector Representatives would be seconded from their regular places of employment, paid by their employer rather than the taxpayer (except for reasonable expenses).