Taking the Party out of Politics

Award winning playwright Chris Lee takes time out his busy schedule to interview the host of Taking the Party Out of Politics, Andrew Brown, about the political ideas behind the podcast, about his motivation for putting it all together, and together they explore whether it will be possible to make the sorts of changes to our political landscape which are the conclusion of the podcast series. Hoste...

It's not that people don't care enough. Absolutely not. But when we campaign about single issues, we are separate.  The thinking is not (obviously) linked up. And it too easy for government to nod, and to simply ignore. It's not that we need more consultation. But consultations can be simply a way of allowing the public to let off steam before the government does what it was going to do anywa...

None of us is as clever as all of us together.   We need to listen to experts.  But we also need to allow space for good ideas to come from anywhere. Together, not separately It should be about the quality of the ideas, not about how good you are at lobbying; or how much money or power or connections a lobby group has. To run a country, all these things need to come together. P...

Ignorance is bliss. And it can also be funny.   But it can also be extremely dangerous. We need to know what the basic facts about the world actually are. Otherwise, how do we know when some new piece of information is important. We need to make sure that we have accurate, up to date information.  We need to agree on the facts. We can’t have political discussion desce...

Could selected Citizens (rather than 'elected representatives') actually be asked to do the jobs which our Government and Ministers are doing at the moment?  How successful could they be expected to be?  What might we gain, and what might we risk losing? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A system which uses informed, balanced, objective, engaged people – citizens – to call our politicians to account, to check that they are doing their job. It’s not a party-political thing.  But it is a political thing.  It’s making sure that the process of Scrutinizing what our elected Government and Ministers are doing is neutral, constructive, and independent. Hosted on Acast. See acas...

Get a small group of people together. Maybe 100. Specially selected to be representative of the range of people and perspectives across the country. Young, old. Rich, poor. Different races and genders. Different political views. Give them all the information about a topic. Let them ask all the questions they need to. Let them discuss it, and think about it. Let them hear from the experts, and from...

If you are just joining us today, then you are in luck, because today we are going to have a quick overview of all the big ideas which we have covered over the last 26 or so episodes. Why politics isn’t working for us, the voters, and why it isn’t really even working for the politicians who are trying to do their bests on our behalf, struggling to work within the political systems. Why there are s...

Why is it so difficult? Essentially, because of the three things which Brexiters wanted, you could only ever have two: 1. The whole of the UK to leave the European Union on the same terms.  2. Leave the single market and the customs union, and  3. Avoid a border between the North and South of Ireland. You cannot avoid having at least one of the three things which Brexiters didn't wa...

What are the misunderstandings which led to an unsuccessful, draining referendum and Brexit? 1. We joined late. The rules had already been set (e.g. supporting French small farmers). 2. The EU was always political: about pooling the things used to make war, as a way of avoiding war.  But, the UK joined (primarily) for economic reasons. 3. Symbolism matters. Our politicians (and Media) lo...

The idea of a referendum is to ask the people what they want. To give the people an opportunity to say what they really think. But it is really about resolving an argument between two different factions within a political party. A referendum needs a question which is easy to understand, and simple to answer. Otherwise the resulting vote doesn't give direction. But life isn't si...

Public Health: maximizing population health gain. "Basically, whatever resource we have as a system, then we want to use that in the most efficient, intelligent, effective way to get the most health gains for the population." (Andy Fox, Assistant Director of Public Health for Lincolnshire) In this podcast we explore what Public Health is attempting to do, and the balance between the timescales whi...

Citizens' Assemblies: +/- 100 people, representing a balanced cross-section of society, learning about an important issue, agreeing on what action should be taken. Literally representing all of us. Learning on behalf of all of us. Thinking on behalf of all of us. Agreeing on what action is needed ... on behalf of all of us. Reporting back to us, with what they have learned. Showing us why their re...

Protest A crucial part of our democratic process. A way for citizens who are not embedded in the political process to engage with politics, to let others know what is important to them, and to let the government know how they feel. There needs to be a balance. It would not be appropriate for terrorists to hold the country to ransom. But does the new government Bill (which seeks to restrict the rig...

BLUNDERS: things which went wrong, which were foreseeable, but which the government did anyway. A very strong executive (government) makes it possible for policies to get rushed into place, without proper checks or thinking.  No consensus + No consultation = Ineffective policies Behavioural causes of BLUNDERS: Ignorance Prejudice Lack of judgement. Lack of appropriate/relevant experience No r...

Too much power in one set of hands risks that all that power might run away with itself, rather than being used for the general good. The “Separation of powers" protects political liberty by dividing government powers. The legislative is Parliament The executive is the Government, and the Civil Service However, the Government is also a subset of the Parliament. Problem 1: A log jam If the exe...

The Wicked Issues are the things which are really important, but which don’t get dealt with. Climate Change. Saving for retirement. etc Our MPs believe that the short-term challenges of dealing with the Wicked Issues mean they won't get re-elected. Any MP who says that we should invest now (to save money or difficulties later) is an easy target for the media and for the opposition. Easy to sa...

The Media Independent Perspective or a Spotlight which burns too brightly? Journalists take pot shots from the side lines, but if they really knew better than our elected politicians, why aren't they standing for election? Grabbing your attention! The pressure of grabbing the headline, of getting the perfect soundbite, of analysing and speculating before the announcement, all in the overexposure o...

Ministers have a lot of power, in a focused area, and can really affect our lives. Ministers are Political Party creatures. Ministers are mostly from 'safe seats', which means that they are actually 'selected' by the active members of their constituency Political Party. Ministers (and most politicians) are from a particular 'class' of people, who are all able to cope with the hassle, the pressure,...

Parliament :  It's supposed to be about our representatives doing their best for us.   It's supposed to be careful consideration of new laws. It's actually dominated by the needs of Political Parties.   It's actually an old system, dominated by slick, centralised, powerful Political Parties. When it works, it's because good people are making it work DESPITE the system.&nbs...

Being an MP: It's supposed to be you representing your constituents, checking on the quality of new laws, holding the government to account, and doing a good job. It's actually a process of trying to find your way and to organise your time, getting ordered around and told how to vote, and then getting dropped by your party or voted out. It's supposed to be you working with the system to make thing...

It's supposed to be good people, deciding to do their bit, making the world a bit better, representing local needs and preferences. It's actually career politicians, supported by a national party.  It's actually a really big personal and financial risk. It's actually just producing people who are already indebted to a national party before they start. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo...

The 5 Impossible Puzzles Bonus Season highlights different structural challenges with the way our electoral and political system is supposed to work.   The fifth puzzle is the Impossible Puzzle for Parliament and Government . Government is trying to make things happen.  Parliament is trying to make sure that those things are reasonable, and that they are in all of our interests. Par...

The 5 Impossible Puzzles Bonus Season highlights different structural challenges with the way our electoral and political system is supposed to work. The fourth puzzle is the Impossible Puzzle for Representative Governments . This is about how our national governments very often receive less than 50% of the national vote. Which means that more than 50% of the people who voted, actually voted AGAIN...

The 5 Impossible Puzzles Bonus Season highlights different structural challenges with the way our electoral and political system is supposed to work. The third puzzle is the Impossible Puzzle for Representatives .  If you are elected on the basis of a set of promises (your manifesto), then only some of the people in your constituency voted for that manifesto. How is it then possible to be fai...