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IN 1911 Hilaire Belloc and Cecil Chesterton wrote The Party System. In it they sought to explain the essential role of a parliamentary candidate, and to show how that role had become corrupted by "the Party System"; a system which required each candidate to become a Party Delegate rather than a People's Representative.
As we sit in front of "the body of the kirk" to explain our policies, it is worth reminding ourselves that the true role of a Member of Parliament is to represent the will of his or her constituents, in the corridors of power, at the national level.
The following, in italics, is taken from the first chapter of The Party System, which is available from the Sovereignty Bookstore.
REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY AS IT OUGHT TO BE
It may, however, be worthwhile to define exactly what democracy is. Votes and elections and representative assemblies are not democracy; they are at best machinery for carrying out democracy. Democracy is government by the general will. Wherever, under whatever forms, such laws as the mass of the people desire are passed, and such laws as they dislike are rejected, there is democracy. Wherever, under whatever forms, the laws passed and rejected have no relation to the desires of the mass, there is no democracy. That is to say, there is no democracy in England today.
Pure democracy is possible only in a small community. The only machinery which perfectly fulfils its idea is the meeting of the elders under the village tree to debate and decide their own concerns. The size of modern communities and the complexity of modern political and economic problems make such an arrangement impossible for us. But it is well to keep it in mind as a picture of real democracy.
The idea of representation is to secure by an indirect method the same result as is secured directly in such communities. Since every man cannot, under modern conditions, vote on every question, it is thought that a number of men might combine to send a man to vote in their name. Men so selected may then meet and vote, and their decision, if they are faithful representatives of the people, may be taken as the decision of the people.
Under no circumstances would such a system work perfectly. But that it may work tolerably, it is essential that the representatives should represent … Either the representative must vote as his constituents would vote if consulted, or he must vote in the opposite sense. In the latter case, he is not a representative at all, but merely an oligarch; for it is surely ridiculous to say that a man represents Bethnal Green if he is in the habit of saying "Aye" when the people of Bethnal Green would say "No."
If, on the other hand, he does vote as his constituents would vote, then he is merely the mouthpiece of his constituents and derives his authority from them. And this is the only democratic theory of representation.
In order that the practice may correspond to it, even approximately, three things are necessary. First, there must be absolute freedom in the selection of representatives; secondly, the representatives must be strictly responsible to their constituents and to no one else; thirdly, the representatives must deliberate in perfect freedom, and especially must be absolutely independent of the Executive.
In a true representative system the Executive would be responsible to the elected assembly and the elected assembly would be responsible to the people. From the people would come the impulse and the initiative. They would make certain demands; it would be the duty of their representatives to give expression to these demands, and of the Executive to carry them out.
It must be obvious to everyone that these conditions do not prevail in England today. Instead of the Executive being controlled by the representative assembly, it controls it. Instead of the demands of the people being expressed for them by their representatives, the matters discussed by the representatives are settled not by the people, not even by themselves, but by the "Ministry" -- the very body which it is the business of the representative assembly to check and control.
Let us, therefore, summarise some main points, while remembering that in the final analysis, the Member of Parliament is there, ideally, to represent his or her constituents.
THE INDEPENDENCE DIVIDEND
When Britain leaves the EU, we shall stop giving £8.5 billion (and shortly to become £11 billion) per year to the EU budget.
We estimate that at least a further £11.5 billion per year will become available to the Treasury from deregulation and a healthier economy.
This £20 billion Independence Dividend could be spent on pensions, agricultural assistance, run-down public services, the NHS, defence, school teachers, the police and the elderly.
KEEP THE POUND FOREVER
The single currency will mean interest rates, taxes and levels of national spending being set in Frankfurt.
It's hard enough for a British government to frame an economic policy for all of Britain. Imagine the disaster of a single economic policy for all of Europe.
TAX
We need to put the tax argument in perspective. We hear a lot of arguments between the other parties about various levels of tax. Let us get one thing straight. Tax policies should be decided as close to home as possible.
Let me read you a quote: "A European currency will lead to member nations transferring their sovereignty over financial and wage polices as well as in monetary affairs. It is an illusion to think that states can hold onto their autonomy over taxation policies."
Who said that? Hans Tietmeyer, President of the Bundesbank, in the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of 18 October 1995.
In other words, everything that the other parties are talking about will be changed completely and forever by the European Union and the single currency.
We can argue about tax cuts right now, but tomorrow we will find we have no control over them anyway.
The message is: If you want to set your own tax rates, you need to leave the EU.
ECONOMY
We believe that membership of the European Union restricts our trading potential and that we would be better off out of the EU.
As the world's fourth largest economy we are well placed to take advantage of global trade, free from the restrictions imposed by membership of the EU.
The EU will still want to trade with us because it exports more to us than we export to it. It needs to keep us as a trading partner.
EDUCATION
We are for selection and streaming and a return to traditional teaching methods. 30,000 new teachers to reduce class sizes to 25 pupils at junior level. We suggest a voucher system so parents can send children to the school of their choice.
HOME AFFAIRS
We promise 25,000 more police officer but oppose proposals for a national police force. We will reduce the number of prisoners with more non-custodial sentences.
DEFENCE
EU withdrawal will see an end to EU defence projects like the Eurofighter and the embryonic EU Army - the so-called Rapid Reaction Force. NATO will be a cornerstone of Britain's defence policy.
FOREIGN POLICY
Increased emphasis on working with the USA and the Commonwealth, while, of course, continuing to trade with Europe. Europe imports more to Britain than we export to it, and so Europe needs us more than we need it.
Overseas development aid to be targeted to local communities rather than governments.
IMMIGRATION AND ASYLUM
Any objection that immigration control is somehow unfair to immigrants from the "Third World" can be easily deflected in the following manner:
"There is no point in addressing the immigration issue without examining its root causes. We need to manage the inflow of immigrants and asylum seekers, alongside the promotion of non-exploitative economic development overseas. Large numbers of people moving around the globe, and being exploited as a form of cheap labour, is neither sustainable nor fair.
"Ultimately, we need to remember that so long as we remain members of the European Union we effectively lose our ability to manage the number of people entering the country."
TRANSPORT AND THE ENVIRONMENT
We will reduce fuel taxes by 9p per litre and improve public transport. We are against the part-privatisation of London Underground. We reject the 'Climate Change Levy', but will encourage the use of the least polluting vehicles and alternative forms of energy production.
SUMMARY
We believe, along with most British people, that Britain should be ruled by our own elected Parliament. Our Parliament should be in charge of our laws, our taxation, our economic policies, our agricultural and fishing policies, our defence forces and our judicial system. All these functions of government are being taken over by the European Union.
'In the EU' means government by the EU, and experience has repeatedly shown that trying to negotiate a better deal for Britain does not work.
We believe in British democracy, not autocratic rule from Brussels. The only way to achieve this is for Britain to leave the EU.
Continued membership of the European Union will increasingly diminish Britain's voice in international affairs, as more power is given to EU institutions.
An independent Britain, by contrast, can be a major player on the world stage.
Friendship with the United States and our role in the Commonwealth link us directly with more than a quarter of the world's peoples, and some of the richest and fastest-growing economies.
Freed from the EU, we can use our influence to promote freedom, tolerance and fair trade.
OTHER POSSIBLE ISSUES
"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT SAVING THE TOWN HALL?"
Local issues often get brought into the Hustings meetings -- and you need to be aware of them and respond to them -- but they are, strictly speaking, inappropriate. This is not an election for the County Council, but rather for the National Parliament.
As someone pointed out to me recently, "They’re going to vote for the Lib Dem candidate because she's going to 'save the Town Hall' but once elected she'll vote to lose the country!"
Therefore, an appropriate response may be something like: "I want to save the Town Hall, of course I do, and if elected, I will do everything I can to save it. However, I also want to save the country. That's why I am standing at an election for the National Parliament, not for the County Council - where that issue is best addressed."
"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT THE LACK OF FACILITIES FOR … IN THIS CONSTITUENCY?"
"My job is to consult with the experts in this constituency on that subject, and follow their advice.
"That means I am going to consult with you, and I am going to fight for what you want. That is what you are electing me to do.
"My job is to ensure that your will - not my will - is done, in the corridors of political power, at the national level.
"Look to me as the person who will work to do what you want. That is the proper job of a Member of Parliament."
"WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON ABORTION, THE DEATH PENALTY, AND OTHER SUCH CONTROVERSIES?"
Don't say "My Party doesn't have a policy on that subject."
Instead you could say, "Our policy, in keeping with the belief that a candidate is a representative of his or her electorate is to ensure that he or she does their best to reflect the majority opinion of the local electorate on this matter.
"I can give you my personal opinion which is … and I can give you my personal guarantee that I will work to promote the majority will of the people in this constituency, in the corridors of power, to which I may be elected, to the best of my ability, whatever that opinion may be."
"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT THE FACT THAT THE RICH ARE GETTING RICHER AND THE POOR ARE GETTING POORER?"
"We have a wide range of policies intended to promote economic inclusion. Among these policies -- intended to redress the gross economic inequities which beset our society and our communities are, for example:
- An NHS with decentralised management and better pay for nurses.
- Restore tax advantages to married couples with children under 18.
- Unemployed workers with 20 years work experience and single mothers with school-age children will get a basic income instead of benefits.
- We will raise the state pension by £5 a week and increase spending on the elderly
- An Independence Dividend which will free £20 billion."
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