It represents an attempt to evolve a more truly democratic model. For want of a better label I have called it 'Short-Rein Democracy', since its built-in accountability would enable the electorate to keep politicians 'on a short rein' without unduly restricting movement and progress in their governmental actitivities.
A notable feature of the system would be the absence of general elections. This would facilitate an uninterrupted continuity of governmental activities. As a consequence, every MP would occupy his or her seat in parliament for an indefinite period which could only be terminated in one of three ways; by death, by voluntary retirement or by a special 'recall to account' procedure explained below.
To ensure that the allegiance of MPs would be to their constituents exclusively, they would be expressly forbidden by law to have any direct involvement or connection with any political party or with any commercial organisation. This should make them independent in every sense and their salaries as MPs would be set at a level designed to reinforce such independence.
With such independence, it would be each MP's personal responsibility to decide which way to vote in the House on any particular issue - without the imperative or guidance of any party whip. Naturally, he or she would be expected to bear the interests and feelings of constituents in mind when making such decisions, even though, in the end, any decision must be a personal one. However, if MPs value their constituents' confidence and continued support, they would be wise to vote in accordance with their understanding of the prevalent constituency feeling.
Under the 'recall to account' procedure, an official notice recalling the MP to the constituency to account for his or her actions or decisions in the House could be served by an appropriate number of dissatisfied constituents. Such a notice, to be legally valid, would have to be signed by a significant proportion of the constituency's electorate; a proportion specified by statute and set at a level low enough to afford the constituents a reasonable degree of control of their MP, yet high enough to avoid facilitating the disruptive tactics of any small but vigorous minority group. As a further safeguard against such disruptive elements, any constituent signing such a notice would not be permitted by law to sign another such notice for a period of, say, two years.
On receipt of the notice, the MP would have to choose whether to resign his or her seat voluntarily, or to return to the constituency and go for re-election against any other candidates who may present themselves for election. This latter course would afford the MP the opportunity to face the critics in his or her constituency, explain his actions and try to justify them. By describing the context of his actions and discussing the issues involved more fully, he or she might even convince the critics that a certain stance was the right one in the circumstances. In which case, he or she would stand a good chance of being re-elected for a further indefinite period.
However, in order to provide a further safeguard against frivolous and irresponsible abuse and to establish some degree of stability, any 'challenging' alternative candidate in such an election would be required to poll at least two-thirds of the vote to unseat the challenged MP. Such a requirement would also help to avoid a continuing state of stressful indecision for an MP whose constituency is seen to be almost equally divided politically.
In my view, if we are to manage human society in a manner that is more responsible and responsive to the ecological parameters of the planet, we need to be able to curb the pernicious excesses of powerful minorities. An essential prerequisite of that is a much greater degree of real democracy, and I believe that an electoral system such as my suggested 'Short-Rein Democracy', operating within a Green economy, would achieve that. There is now an urgent need for a wider debate and discussion of these topics.
Jonathan Gray, c/o Green Drum magazine, ('the environmental quarterly for people who care'), 18 Cofton Lake Road, Birmingham B45 8PL (tel 021 445 2576). The above is extracted from issue 57 of Green Drum. L3-50 subs.