Personal Political Manifestos.

[Mr Mystery]

How do! It's another ideally apolitical political thread.

For those foreign types who might be unaware, a manifesto is what British political parties publish in the run up to an election. Essentially, it's a list of intentions (but not necessarily promises) of what they would do when elected.

And I thought it would be interesting to see what sort of intentions you would pledge if running for Parliament/Office/Local Equivalent. Now it goes without saying that I'm trusting you to keep this a good clean thread, and to keep some of your more robust views to yourself. Don't worry about the practicality, this is an 'ideal world' game! As ever, I shall begin.

1. Public Service? Publically Owned. Power. Water. Transport. All will be bought out by the state. No company should be allowed to make a profit on the building blocks of not just society but in the case of warmth and water, human life. Water, Gas, Electricity would all be supplied by nationalised suppliers. Rather than seeking to post colossal profits, they are there to cover their own running and maintenance costs, reducing bills for populace. Transportation. See above. There to cover their own running and maintenance costs, without seeking to make a profit. Prices would be set nationally. So cost-per-mile would be the same no matter where you live. Whilst this may put costs up in some areas (though I doubt it!) it would provide a more mobile workforce. For instance, I'll soon be getting the Train from Tunbridge Wells to Canary Wharf 5-6 days a week. The costs? £375 a month. This is a roughly 40 mile or so journey. Compare to Brighton-London, roughly double the mileage - £309 a month. The reason for the difference? Sheer corporate greed, and there is no call for this when providing a public service.

2. Drugs. As someone extremely anti-drugs, to hell with this Class A-whatever system in the UK. Absolute zero tolerance. If you are caught with a controlled or illegal substance, and do not have a valid research license or medical prescription? Then you are doing time, and winding up with a criminal record. No warnings. No slap on the wrist. The sentence will be determined by the amount.

3. Benefits. Reduce the *cash* payments to those claiming benefits. Single parent? You can expect a weekly delivery of baby's requirements. The state will clothe you, feed you and shelter you, but it will not pamper you. Want ciggies and drink? Work opportunities in your community will be made available, from gardening local green areas, to assisting in childcare. Caught abusing the benefits system? Thank you for opting out. Here's the local paper, job adverts start on page x.

4. Education. University Tuition fees are to stay as they are. However, certain qualifications (teaching, nursing, medicine, things immediately useful to society, therefore not stuff like theatre studies, media studies etc) will be full funded by the State, as long as you pass the whole course. Where there is an identified skills shortage, courses will be subisidised by the state until the shortage is supplied. Where the rules change, the change will not impact those already accepted on a course, or currently studying.

5. Care for the Elderly. Rigorous minimum standards of care to be applied to the private sector. Although potentially racist, anyone working in this sector that does not speak the native tongue, whether cleaner or home manager will have to pass a language skills competency case. This isn't because you're johnny foreigner, but because these are frail older persons, and it is imperative that all members of staff are able to interact with the patients. Read, write, speak and comprehend to a set level. This does not mean you have to ditch your accent, but you must be able to understand and be understood in English.

There, that about wraps up my manifesto! VOTE FOR MYSTERY!

[Denzark]

I'll buy that for a dollar.

[Mr Mystery]

Just considered a late addition...

6. Best Is British. If you are a foreign national, and you serve in Her Majesty's Armed Forces, work as an NHS Nurse, Doctor, Dentist or as a Teacher, then after a set time period, providing your work Visa was granted and you have no criminal record, then you automatically qualify as a British Citizen. You do right by us, we do right by you. Any member of your nuclear family living with you in Britain for the duration of your, for want of a better term, probation, likewise qualify. Full Pension. Full benefits. You work for the realm, you are part of the realm. Service guarantees Citizenship! (but not in it's classical slightly right wing meaning!)

[wittdooley]

I'm on board with everything but drugs. We already over criminalize it in the US, and quite frankly I'm tired of loading up our prisons with people selling pot.

I'm a little more strict when it comes to chemically manufactured junk that people shove in their bodies, but I'm still torn because what you stick in your body really should be up to you. Eating a ton of McDonalds is just as bad for you as many drugs, but we don't regulate that at all. The gov't can't, and shouldn't, be in charge of every choice we make about our health, but in that same regard, the state shouldn't be required or obligated to pay for your methodone.

[DarkLink]

Right, the complete illegalization of drugs, and enforcement thereof, has been a massively expensive failure. [url]http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303425504577353754196169014.html[/url]

[MaltonNecromancer]

I'd write it down, but all I'd be doing is listing a fairly solid left-wing Socialist manifesto for all public services. All public services would all be overseen by a government body with serious teeth (as Ofsted does for education, so it would be for all public services) because the idea of "competition" as a cure-all panacea is idealogical hogwash of the most repugnant kind. All competition breeds is an apex predator, hence the power of the oligarchies we have now. There's nothing wrong with a government body to oversee things, as long as that body is overseen by the government in power (which is surely the point of government).

There would be strict regulation of banks. Yes, you can make massive financial gains through deregulation. They leads inexorably to crises of the kind we are enjoying now, only enriching the corrupt.

I would promote the growth of unions, coupled with strict enforcement of new laws designed to curtail union corruption (which I would set up a non-affiliated apolitical organisation to investigate).

The media would be far more strongly regulated, but by existing law (the problem with our papers not being the law, but its lax enforcement).

I'd run serious investigations into police corruption. Since 1975, there have been 1500 police officer accused of manslaughter. Not one has been convicted. Ever. That statisic strikes me as suggesting that there might be some corruption there - it needs more research.

Private schools would be made public. All private education would be made illegal. There will be no two-tier system in my country; the rich will be educated with the poor. END OF STORY. I would also ban faith schools, which I regard as a great moral wrong. Everyone will partake of the same education system, which will be tailored for their individual needs, as it was before the Tory party's idealogical war of terror on the UK education system.

Religion? Total religious freedom, believe what you want. Everyone has the right to take days off work for religious ceremonies. Atheists just get five free work days a year to take whenever they like. I would also invest money in ecumenical inter-faith initiatives, designed to bring people of all faiths together. these would take the form of parties, get togethers, and the like. Nice things, where people can just hang out. I would also raise a campaign to promote tolerance of muslims, as the Islamophobia running rampant in the UK at the moment is disgusting to see. It fuels terrorism, and embarrasses us.

Politicians would recieve free housing in London... these would be council flats in impoverished estates. They will recieve no money for transport - they will have to use public transport, though they will recieve vouchers towards bikes. That should help with both making improving council estates and public transportation a priority. Politicians would no longer recieve any expenses, but they would recieve a pay rise, in line with other public sector pay scales (i.e.: they would make as much as teachers). Politicians would basically have to do it for the duty, not the money.

Drug legislation? I ain't touching that. I'd probably try to make cannabis legal and alcohol illegal if I'm honest; by every measure alcohol is one of the most damaging drugs. I don't think we'll ever be ready for that as a society, though.

I would spearhead policies designed to improve rates of conviction for rape. I would also invest money in public campaigns to raise awareness of the issues surrounding rape, as well as trying to end both our rape culture, and the culture of victim-blaming that still persists.

The rich would be taxed very heavily. No human being needs or deserves to make more than £250,000 a year, they just don't. It's monstrously, monstrously wrong. I would also look at clamping down hard on anyone who used offshore accounts. I'm talking prison time. Not paying tax is as bad as being a benefit thief, but as always in the UK, we attack the poor because they are obvious problem. A thief is a thief, whether they carry a briefcase or a knife.

I would also look at dealing with our lack of support for people suffering with mental health issues, especially post-traumatic combat veterans (no soldier should be cast aside once he has served his country).

Basically, a little less focus on making money and a lot more focus on looking after people, because big business and money doesn't.