Our System

The structure we are proposing has three key elements, Parliament, the will of the people expressed through referendums, and the Constitutional Commission. Parliament will continue with the debate and enactment of legislation, however with our system in place the people will now have the power to reject any law they believe to be unfair or unjust. The people will also have the power to propose legislation and initiate referendums. To initiate a referendum process the sponsors of the legislation must collect a specified number of verifiable signatures from registered voters. In Switzerland the system requires 100,000 signatures, but Switzerland is a smaller country than Britain so we would need to specify a larger number, perhaps 1,000,000. Once the signatures have been collected a referendum must be held, unless Parliament agrees to put the legislation through.

An important part of our structure is the Constitutional Commission. The Commission will only be able to assist legislation that reforms the political system, and the way in which non representative groups and organisations influence the political system. The members of the Commission will be elected and independent from Parliament. The purpose of the Commission is to put pressure on Parliamentarians to bring about the reforms we need through their own procedures, rather than relying solely on the practice of citizen initiatives and referendums. This will enable the accelerated evolution of our political systems. Of course, the power to ultimately accept or deny these reforms will always be in the hands of the  people of Britain.

The Commission would be a conduit, a bridge connecting people directly with the legislative process. Groups and organizations in civil society would propose reforms and send it to Parliament in the normal way. If rejected by Parliament, then the group proposing the reforms can appeal to the Commission. To take a proposal to the Commission the sponsors would still have to demonstrate public support, but the barrier would be lower and would only require the collection of say, 200,000 signatures. If the Commission supports the proposal they refer it back to Parliament. If Parliament rejects the legislation, then the legislation automatically goes to national referendum.

If the Commission decides to reject the proposal, then the group who initiated the reform can still attempt a citizens initiative to take the proposal to a national referendum. To do so, they must collect the full amount of signatures from registered voters over a certain period of time. If they manage to get the required support then the referendum is called. If they fail to get support, then the proposal dies. With this system in place any legislative reform that has sufficient support will be passed by referendum.

To summarise, if Parliament fails to deal with a problem, the Commission deals with it, if the Commission fails to deal with it, then the people will ultimately decide through the procedure of direct democracy. The result is not just a series of checks and balances but also real pressure for change. Over time the political system will be reformed, and redesigned to deliver solutions. Bringing about these changes will take time, but it can happen, will happen, and will happen in a way that is truly democratic.