Most of us with a little vision and creativity, wonder why MPs don’t solve anything during time in power.
No matter what the party, if you have billions of pounds and visionary people, we should be now have zero climate change, walkable communities, excellent public transport, strict animal welfare and child protection laws, zero homelessness, fair benefits, good employment laws and no litter. So why have none of these happened?
It was only a campaign by the public at 38 Degrees that stopped David Cameron’s government selling off our remaining forests to private hands.
Fringe parties like Animal Welfare Party, the Peace Party and Greens all have great policies, but the mainstream parties never enact any of them to full effect.
The Alternative (Denmark) is more a ‘green movement’ than political party, a grownup consortium of people who know what they are talking about, care about the planet and inspire others to do the same.
It has almost 11,000 members, 10 MPs and 7 councillors. Present campaigns include pig welfare in the agricultural industry. Leader Franciska Rosenkilde is an expert on food systems and climate change.
Can Fringe Parties Make a Difference?
Fringe parties have a unique ability to mobilise disillusioned voters. Many people who feel neglected by mainstream politics are drawn to these parties, which can shift political discourse dramatically.
By addressing concerns overlooked by larger parties, fringe parties can alter the landscape, forcing mainstream parties to reconsider their platforms.
Mebyon Kernow is the official party for independence in Cornwall.
Yorkshire party wants more devolution, instead of ‘receiving the scraps from London’s table’, and help for their repeated financial cuts, decaying rails and roads, struggling schools and stuttering economy.
It would introduce tougher penalties on pollution, ban fracking, support ambitious rewilding projects, have all new buildings with first-class insulation and solar panels and make waves to stop water pollution and farming run-off.
Lincolnshire Independents is a coalition of local independent MPs. But unlike main political parties, local people who are elected are free to vote on or say what they want, as there is no ‘party whip’ to toe them into line, if they have a difference of opinion.
Church of the Militant Elvis Party shows just how bad politics has become, in that its policies appear to be some of the best.
It is against rainforest destruction and the power of the big supermarkets dominating the high street, along with climate change and the power of large corporations. he always wanted to bring back dog licenses, fill in potholes and keep public loos open.
The Official Monster Raving Loony Party again had some good policies, though Screaming Lord Sutch for all his barmpot fun, committed suicide while suffering from severe depression. The current leader is Howling Laud Hope.
Policies include sending all MPs who misbehave to Rwanda, introduce a 3-year ‘cooling off period’ for voters in case they want to change their minds, and all social media sites will be taken down for a day each week to ‘remember when we used to talk’.
Books on Better Politics
- Free and Equal is a book on to create a fairer society, where progressive politics wins. Written by an economist with a heart, this is food for thought. You won’t find a bad review!
- Code of Conduct is by a former MP who looks at how to solve misconduct in parliament. Taking us from the Prime Minister’s office to Stranger’s Bar) this book looks at how parliament got into this mess, and how it might get its House in order.
- How Westminsters Works (and why it doesn’t) looks at why most MPs fail in their promises, once elected. Learn the role of ‘special advisors’ and what the House of Lords does all day. From Downing Street to Whitehall to the House of Commons.
