This is the third in my series of posts about building a democratic socialist party. In this post, I want to focus on policies.
What policies should a party have? Of course, that is up to the members not me, but here are some policies for real change that I wrote about in a previous post, policies which I think would be widely supported and are essential to begin the bring about the changes we want:
1. Electoral reform - the introduction of a system of proportional representation (PR) for all elections. Scrap the HoL.
2. A green new deal (GND) to combat the climate crisis and provide much-needed jobs in response to the economic contraction we are going through.
3. A recognition of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) by the government, the Treasury, and the BoE.
To these, I would add:
4. A written constitution - which would include the abolition of the House of Lords, an elected second chamber, and greater devolution of powers to Scotland, Wales, and regional and local government - all properly funded. A referendum on Scottish independence.
5. Restoration of the pubic sector - this would include as a minimum - rail and other public transport, water, and Royal Mail, and the full return of a unified NHS and public health.
6. A minimum wage of at least £15 per hour and a job guarantee - there will be plenty of jobs in a GND.
7. Social housing for all who need it. All new housing to be built to high environmental standards - passivhaus.
8. The end of privatisation of the Education sector - bring all schools back into the control of local authorities, abolish student loans and student debt.
9. Rewilding of the UK and proper protection of biodiversity including a ban on the use of pesticides and intensive farming - yes we can grow our food organically.
10. A fair taxation system, including replacing council tax, taxes on the wealthy and tax dodgers, proper regulation of the financial sector, and public sector banking.
I just want to finish off this series of posts with a reference to Rob Hopkins's book - From What Is To What If - and how it can be used to challenge our thinking and generate ideas.
If we are going to bring about radical change we need to reimagine how our party, society, and economy work. And, as I said in the first post in this series we need to think about how a political party can work collectively and successfully. Rob's book is a superb guide and primer on how to do this. It's a book that everyone should read.
All we have to do now is make it happen.......
