The executive should be appointed by the legislature, on an annual basis. Ministers could then be selected from all walks of life for their expertise in subject areas, management, or other desirable skills.
British subjects shall pay no fee to enter parliamentary grounds.
Fully include of the monarchy within the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), so that the royal household is legally obliged to respond to information requests[^royal-secrecy].
Adopt full disclosure of royal lobbying and influence, including disclosure of meetings between members of the royal family and ministers.
To become a truly democratic country, the UK should become a republic. As a long-term goal, the monarchy would be replaced with an elected President who will act as Head of State. We recommend the model proposed by Republic.
The President would be mainly a ceremonial position, and should be apolitical and not affiliated to any party. The Prime Minster would remain as Head of Government, and would be appointed by the President after a General Election, as is the case with the Queen now. The President will not be involved in the legislative process.
Presidential terms of office will be fixed at five years, with a maximum of two terms to be served by an individual.
The President will be equal before the law, and will not be protected by Sovereign Immunity. The President will not be constitutionally linked to any faith.
The City of London Corporation is an effrontery to modern democracy and it embodies all that is wrong with British society. We demand immediate wide-reaching reform of the City and its institutions. Abolish the City Minister position, ending the privileged position of the City of London to influence policy at the expense of the wider public.
To dampen the influence of the City of London in the legislative process, we will remove the City Remembrancer from the floor of the House of Commons and end the Remembrancer's privileges to view legislation during the drafting process. Although granting these permissions is under the control of the Speaker, legislation should be enacted to ban the Remembrancer from resuming these permissions.
To become a truly democratic country, the UK should become a republic. As a long-term goal, the monarchy would be replaced with an elected President who will act as Head of State. We recommend the model proposed by Republic.
The President would be mainly a ceremonial position, and should be apolitical and not affiliated to any party. The Prime Minster would remain as Head of Government, and would be appointed by the President after a General Election, as is the case with the Queen now. The President will not be involved in the legislative process.
Presidential terms of office will be fixed at five years, with a maximum of two terms to be served by an individual.
The President will be equal before the law, and will not be protected by Sovereign Immunity. The President will not be constitutionally linked to any faith.
@philipjohn - about 7 years ago
👍 but can I be pedantic and ask that "big Ben" is changed to "the Palace of Westminster" please?
I thought you'd kick up a bigger stink about being called "a subject" :)
👍 as well, but yeah, Palace of Westminster. Otherwise people get free access to a bell :)
as well, but yeah, Palace of Westminster. Otherwise people get free access to a bell :)
There was a reason I put "Big Ben" and not "Palace of Westminster", just as there was a reason I put "Get rid of Nude Body Scanners" instead of "Charter for the Abolition of Millimeter Wave Scanning Arrays". I don't mind if you change the wording. But I want whatever you choose to be memorable and to resonate with the public. I would like journalists to look upon the manifesto and remember the things on it, so that they can then ask the members of the other parties: "Well, why aren't you doing (it)?"
It's easy to overwhelm even well-studied people with an abundance of burdensome language that's difficult to keep track of (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewbacca_defense)
I know we've got a bunch of people who're technically minded here, but outside of here we've got a bunch of people who aren't, and in a way I don't want to exclude them for that reason alone.
I suppose what I'm saying is my view is "If simple will do, use it."
@anilliams - about 7 years ago
Arguably, you're making it more confusing as Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament are not synonymous, and your wording makes it unclear whether you're referring to just the clock tower or the whole thing. Something about the word 'of' in that context also seems ungrammatical. How about renaming the section 'Free Passage in Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament'. Because Houses of Parliament is far more commonly used to refer to the buildings than Palace of Westminster.
Oh, yeah, "Houses of Parliament" is better than "Palace of Westminster", and I reckon everyone knows what it means. How about that @Xyleneb?
BTW, I totally agree with your point about using simple language, and we definitely want to do that, but not so simple that it ends up saying the wrong thing :)
How about renaming the section 'Free Passage in Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament'.
Yeah I think I'll still be able to edit it, I'll find out.
The executive should be appointed by the legislature, on an annual basis. Ministers could then be selected from all walks of life for their expertise in subject areas, management, or other desirable skills.
British subjects shall pay no fee to enter parliamentary grounds.
Fully include of the monarchy within the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), so that the royal household is legally obliged to respond to information requests[^royal-secrecy].
Adopt full disclosure of royal lobbying and influence, including disclosure of meetings between members of the royal family and ministers.
To become a truly democratic country, the UK should become a republic. As a long-term goal, the monarchy would be replaced with an elected President who will act as Head of State. We recommend the model proposed by Republic.
The President would be mainly a ceremonial position, and should be apolitical and not affiliated to any party. The Prime Minster would remain as Head of Government, and would be appointed by the President after a General Election, as is the case with the Queen now. The President will not be involved in the legislative process.
Presidential terms of office will be fixed at five years, with a maximum of two terms to be served by an individual.
The President will be equal before the law, and will not be protected by Sovereign Immunity. The President will not be constitutionally linked to any faith.
The City of London Corporation is an effrontery to modern democracy and it embodies all that is wrong with British society. We demand immediate wide-reaching reform of the City and its institutions. Abolish the City Minister position, ending the privileged position of the City of London to influence policy at the expense of the wider public.
To dampen the influence of the City of London in the legislative process, we will remove the City Remembrancer from the floor of the House of Commons and end the Remembrancer's privileges to view legislation during the drafting process. Although granting these permissions is under the control of the Speaker, legislation should be enacted to ban the Remembrancer from resuming these permissions.
To become a truly democratic country, the UK should become a republic. As a long-term goal, the monarchy would be replaced with an elected President who will act as Head of State. We recommend the model proposed by Republic.
The President would be mainly a ceremonial position, and should be apolitical and not affiliated to any party. The Prime Minster would remain as Head of Government, and would be appointed by the President after a General Election, as is the case with the Queen now. The President will not be involved in the legislative process.
Presidential terms of office will be fixed at five years, with a maximum of two terms to be served by an individual.
The President will be equal before the law, and will not be protected by Sovereign Immunity. The President will not be constitutionally linked to any faith.
The OpenPolitics Manifesto
@Xyleneb - about 7 years ago
The 'Democracy' page has got some inconsistencies which will need to be addressed at some point, which is why I moved a couple sections around.