Brian May: Why our Common Decency campaign might just fix British politics
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Version 0 of 1. Many people have asked me why I decided not to stand as an MP in the coming election. I am hoping to achieve something that could not be done by running. I treasure my “colourblindness” with regards to political parties. I believe there are good, decent MPs in every party. But too many – a majority – of the current MPs are sitting there, arrogantly ignoring our wishes, following party lines, and blurring the edges of what is decent behaviour in an elected representative. So what is our Common Decency campaign all about? Well, it’s not a political party. It’s a plan to give us a Britain free of the corruption and inequality which is driving us all mad – a Britain in which our voice will truly be heard. Over the past five years, through lobbying in Portcullis House and in parliament itself, we have seen close-up how the government really works. We have seen debates during which only a handful of MPs turn up, followed by a bell signifying a vote, upon which hordes of MPs swarm out of the bar and restaurant, or wherever they’ve been hanging out, with no idea of what they’re voting on, but obeying the party whips. And this is democracy? We see MPs voting on issues in which they have a financial interest, or family links – and this is a democracy? We have seen debates brought about by petitions on the government’s own website – not least our own petition – eventually signed by more than 300,000 people who were disgusted by David Cameron’s doomed badger cull. Following these debates, we have seen votes carried against government policy, yet the ministers involved openly showed their indifference and contempt, and carried on as if nothing had happened. Furthermore, we are seeing increasing inequality everywhere. We see the poor getting poorer – we see the rich, protected by David Cameron’s clique, getting richer, through exemptions from taxes and even, shockingly, through government subsidies to their businesses – for instance the cruel bird-shooting industry. We see MPs voting on issues in which they have a financial interest, or family links – and this is supposed to be democracy? People everywhere are disgusted with the behaviour of MPs, but feel that voting is a waste of time, since the first-past-the-post electoral system ensures that their vote can make no difference if they live in a safe seat constituency. There is an old saying that if you tell a lie often enough, people will believe it. Right now we are seeing thousands of billboards going up, shouting propaganda at us. They all cost money. Last time around the Green party spent roughly £325,000 on their entire election campaign. The Conservative party spent … guess. Nearly £17m million pounds. That’s fair, isn’t it? And this funding was provided in large by obscenely rich sponsors – the very people whose riches are protected by Cameron’s gang. You and I have just 15 hours every five years to influence government policy by our vote. Powerful business interests influence policy every day. What do we do about it? I believe I have a scheme that could give us a better parliament come 8 May. Here is a quick summary of the Common Decency plan: Even if you think it’s a waste of time, VOTE! In the past, so many of us have not actually got as far as the polling booth because we perceive our constituency as a safe seat, and feel that our one vote would make no difference. I believe not just that we all ought to vote because people died to give us that right; more than that, I believe that with greater engagement, even safe seats can be toppled, creating a new kind of parliament. Vote colour-blind Don’t worry about which political party you’re voting for – look for the person who will actually listen to your views and represent you in parliament. Assess them on the basis of the “pillars of common decency”. We are talking about a commitment from MPs to vote according to their constituents’ wishes and their moral conscience, rather than what the whips tell them to do. Question your candidates Ask them if they will protect the National Health Service from being sold off to businesses for profit. Ask them if they will support the hunting act to protect wild animals against sadistic blood sports. Ask them if they will support badger culling when all the evidence tells us it can only make the bovine TB problem worse. Ask them if they will work for reform of the House of Commons. If they have already been in the house, find out if they turned up for debates, and how they voted: for their own advancement in their party, or according to your wishes – you who put them there. Tell all your friends (who also think their vote would be wasted) If every former non-voter (including me) in Britain followed this course, we could turn the whole system upside down. In reality we will not succeed in every case, but the more people who come on board, the more we will achieve – hopefully enough to secure a new standard of behaviour in government. How will this work? Breaking the vice-like grip of the outdated two-party system, and instead putting a genuinely diverse group of MPs into that ancient House of Commons, will make sure that issues have to be discussed honestly and fairly, according to what is best for the public, rather than what is best for one all-powerful political party. This is how we will get our voice back. Once this new order is in place, we can really get to work on reforming Britain, rooting out the rotten core of unfairness which dominates our whole lives. • To find out more about Common Decency go to commondecency.org.uk. Brian May will be joining Zoe Williams to discuss the future of British politics at a Guardian Live panel event – What can we do about politics? – on Monday 20 April. |