Independent candidates can sometimes find it difficult to produce a comprehensive manifesto on national and international issues. To help you get started we have put together the following suggestions.
Use the Network
The IN, as the name suggests, is a network for independents that aims to pool resources to enable candidates to succeed. Candidates can use the network to communicate and use the expertise of other independents and supporters. For instance, if you are struggling on education and healthcare, you can contact candidates who are doctors or teachers to improve your understanding of these areas.
Research
Whilst New Labour proclaimed, ‘education, education, education’, a statement for independents could be ‘research, research, research’. It’s important that you’re up to date on current political debates and have a good knowledge base on national policy. Think tanks provide excellent research on a wide range of subjects from economics to immigration. They are arguably influential in politics, as many party policies originate from research carried out by them. Examples of popular think tanks include ippr, Demos, Fabian Society and Hansard Society.
Demographics
It’s useful to check out the demographics of your constituency. This can help you to target your voters, for instance you may want to attract a certain group, such as students. Good websites for demographics include UK Polling Report and National Statistics Online.
Consult
One of the strengths of being an independent candidate is that you don’t have to sign up to a rigid manifesto - you can freely listen and consult your constituents. Essentially you want to redirect their needs and requests in an effective and clear way in your manifesto. To be successful you will need to get in touch with people of all ages and backgrounds, this will enable you to have a balanced view. It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to have a proper conversation with every electorate, so online methods are great. A good website is Survey Monkey which enables users to create online surveys for free.
Social Media
A good way to get in touch with younger people is by using popular social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter. It is a great way to connect with a wide range of people that you may not meet in traditional public political events. Barack Obama used Facebook and Twitter in the 2008 US presidential election to his advantage in order to connect with his audience. Social Oomph is a great website that enables users to manage social media and is an essential tool for candidates.
Don’t reinvent the wheel
If you have policies that are similar or the same as political parties, avoid the pitfalls of completely changing your manifestos just to be different; there’s no point reinventing the wheel. But it can be an advantage to research opposing candidates’ manifestos if asked to draw upon why your policies are better than theirs; it is always good to know what you are up against.
Non-profits
Finally, if you’re supporter of a charity or pressure group, you may want to include some of their policies in your manifesto. For instance Save the Children is asking Prospective Parliamentary Candidates (PPCs) to consent (if elected) to take direct action to end child poverty. If you’re not currently involved with a charity, but passionate about a certain issue, you may want to contact an organisation that supports your views. For instance if you’re passionate about electoral reform, you may want to get in touch with Power 2010 and sign up to their pledge for PPCs.
If you think we’ve missed any key points please leave your comments below or send an email to: secretariat@independentnetwork.org.uk
Showing posts with label Power 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Power 2010. Show all posts
Thursday, 28 January 2010
Monday, 30 November 2009
Guest Blog by Guy Aitchison of Power 2010 http://www.power2010.org.uk
Perhaps the most striking features of politics today, is the gaping chasm that exists between the loyalties, hopes and fears of the public on the one side and what our sclerotic political system permits on the other.
For a long time, people in the UK have been switching off from formal politics. Voter turnout at the last two general elections in 2001 and 2005 was at a historic low of around 60%. One of the self-serving myths of the political class is that this disengagement stems from apathy or satisfaction with the status quo. This couldn't be further from the truth. Take any issue of concern – climate change, war and peace, poverty, civil liberties - and you'll find lots of fired up people out there. But their anger and compassion leads them to support campaigning charities and NGOs rather than get involved in party politics.
This is equally true of the local level - people care deeply that their local hospital is closing or that there's no jobs in their area, but they don't feel confident that the systems in place will be responsive to their concerns.
At the Power Inquiry, the largest ever investigation into people’s attitudes to British democracy concluded, people are withdrawing from formal politics out of a sense of powerlessness and a feeling that parties and politicians are all the same. That's why public outrage over expenses was always about more than simply duck houses, moats, dry rot, and other abuses, however petty or extravagant; it was symptomatic of a much deeper disconnect between the public and politicians that has been building for years.
If there's to be any hope of breaking through this morass it'll take citizens organising outside the formal structures of political power and calling for reforms that will open up our democracy to new voices and new ways of thinking.
POWER2010 the spiritual successor to the Power Inquiry, is one such initiative. The Independent Network is another. Both aim to challenge an insular and semi-corrupt political class that has grown arrogant and complacent after years of power and the privileges that come with it. POWER2010 is a grassroots campaign to renew and strengthen UK democracy from the bottom up. The campaign is unique in giving everyone the chance to have a say in how our democracy works for us.
The public is being asked to send in ideas for how to change politics before Tuesday November 30th. Is it open primaries? Fairer voting? A cleaner system of funding politics? More power to local communities? You decide: http://www.power2010.org.uk/page/s/yourideas
The ideas with most support will become the POWER2010 Pledge and the focus for a national campaign at the next general election. Over 3,000 reforms have been submitted so far and it won't surprise you to learn that a lot of them are aimed at trying to get smaller parties and independents into Parliament. As Jim Thornton, Exec member of the Independent Network, wrote on the POWER2010 blog it's remarkable that while 98.5% of the British population refuse to belong to a political party, there are only seven Independent MPs.
The next election provides an opportunity for those who want a new politics to work together to break open the system and reverse the stranglehold the two big parties have over our democracy.
Find out more about Power 2010 by checking out their website and Facebook and Twitter page.
For a long time, people in the UK have been switching off from formal politics. Voter turnout at the last two general elections in 2001 and 2005 was at a historic low of around 60%. One of the self-serving myths of the political class is that this disengagement stems from apathy or satisfaction with the status quo. This couldn't be further from the truth. Take any issue of concern – climate change, war and peace, poverty, civil liberties - and you'll find lots of fired up people out there. But their anger and compassion leads them to support campaigning charities and NGOs rather than get involved in party politics.
This is equally true of the local level - people care deeply that their local hospital is closing or that there's no jobs in their area, but they don't feel confident that the systems in place will be responsive to their concerns.
At the Power Inquiry, the largest ever investigation into people’s attitudes to British democracy concluded, people are withdrawing from formal politics out of a sense of powerlessness and a feeling that parties and politicians are all the same. That's why public outrage over expenses was always about more than simply duck houses, moats, dry rot, and other abuses, however petty or extravagant; it was symptomatic of a much deeper disconnect between the public and politicians that has been building for years.
If there's to be any hope of breaking through this morass it'll take citizens organising outside the formal structures of political power and calling for reforms that will open up our democracy to new voices and new ways of thinking.
POWER2010 the spiritual successor to the Power Inquiry, is one such initiative. The Independent Network is another. Both aim to challenge an insular and semi-corrupt political class that has grown arrogant and complacent after years of power and the privileges that come with it. POWER2010 is a grassroots campaign to renew and strengthen UK democracy from the bottom up. The campaign is unique in giving everyone the chance to have a say in how our democracy works for us.
The public is being asked to send in ideas for how to change politics before Tuesday November 30th. Is it open primaries? Fairer voting? A cleaner system of funding politics? More power to local communities? You decide: http://www.power2010.org.uk/page/s/yourideas
The ideas with most support will become the POWER2010 Pledge and the focus for a national campaign at the next general election. Over 3,000 reforms have been submitted so far and it won't surprise you to learn that a lot of them are aimed at trying to get smaller parties and independents into Parliament. As Jim Thornton, Exec member of the Independent Network, wrote on the POWER2010 blog it's remarkable that while 98.5% of the British population refuse to belong to a political party, there are only seven Independent MPs.
The next election provides an opportunity for those who want a new politics to work together to break open the system and reverse the stranglehold the two big parties have over our democracy.
Find out more about Power 2010 by checking out their website and Facebook and Twitter page.
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