North Devon Compass Conference 27 April 24

Outputs from Open Space Sessions – Newsroom Write Up

NB Notes in italics come from post it notes put on the write up by conference attendees.

Elect Progressive MPs for Northern Devon – Practical Action

• Progressive = Furthering Compass Aims

  • Labour’s stance on PR difficult

• Open Primaries

  • Big commitment

  • National party concerns

• Promote Tactical Voting

  • How do we know how to vote?

  • North Devon clear

  • Torridge and Tavistock less clear?

  • How will recommendations be made

  • Tactical voting sites need to be transparent

• Newspaper letters – how to use your vote in FPTP

  • Work with local editors and write letters to promote the progressive candidate most likely to win and local radio

• Social Media

• Commit to help ‘Green voting Lib Dems’ or ‘Lib Dems voting Labour.  Badges or on leaflets NB Could be expelled from party

  • Help out the most likely candidates Who decides who is most likely to win?

• Torridge – how do farmers feel?  Go and ask the NFU

• Torridge – Compass could arrange an opinion poll to gauge who is most likely to beat the Tory MP How would a sample frame for such a poll be chosen?

Citizens Assemblies

• Totally random selection by a professional organisation

• Ensure they reflect all sections of society

  • Age, sex, social economic group, physical ability

  • To include:

    • Pensioners

    • Travellers

    • Homeless

    • Age 16+

• Local, Regional, National

• When would they be convened?

• Communicate what they are

MP Watch

• Non Partisan – “Truth and Integrity’ – Accountability

  • Community and planet

• Hold MPs feet to the fire via ‘scrutiny’

• Join ‘Saxby Watch’ – How?

  • Access www.MPwatch.org on lin

• Join 50 other national groups scrutinising:

  • Baker/Rees Mogg/ Truss/Braverman/Anderson etc

  • Follow links to ‘They work for you’

• Set up local:

  • WhatsApp group

  • Facebook page

  • Twitter account

  • Instegram account

  • You Tube etc

• Also via www.MPwatch.org main page:

  • Consolidate (good for finance, lobbying etc)

• Put press release together for local press

  • Set up contacts with local journalists and local radio

• Question – how to gain/maintain credibility if opposition is to be expected from the usual suspects?

  • Street stalls, events, fundraising

• Meet the MP – surgery

  • Polite/forma/factual/friendly

• Set up a ‘Cox Watch’…..please

  • Find a catchy name!  Suggestions please  “Where’s Geoffrey?’

Rebuilding Local Community

• Facilities for groups

• 73% of local government funding has been cut in North Devon

  • This supported ‘Link” (Support groups all gone)

• Places to talk

• Support for carers

• Build neighbourhood support

• Closures of so many committees:

  • Surestart, ‘Hawley’, Half way houses (Hyde House)

• Awareness of each other’s needs

• Sharing of history/life

• How do we create safe spaces

• All starts with saying hello to someone on the street

• Education as part of a community

• Expressing love

• More control of social media (Regulations)

• Respect/tolerace/acceptance

• Valuing young people – how?

• Mentality of moving from individual to community

• Challenge overwhelming admin/HS&E etc

• Levelling up!

• More interaction with local MP

How Can We Get Parties to Work Together?

• Address issues affecting young people and show how politics is the only way to make society better

• Grass roots pressure on parties to cooperate

• Change culture via schools etc

• Vote swapping

• South Devon Primary

• Learn from other countries

• Undercover ‘understandings’ between parties

• Timeline

  • Cooperation – reform – better society

• Wisdom instead of competition

• Distrust between parties

• Start with an issue, find young people and introduce the importance of politics

  • Justice

  • Climate

Voting Reform and PR

• Schools – education needed

• Arguments pro FPTP based on subjectivity, opinion and fearmongering (mostly)

• Pro PR based on facts link to 1976 report should be included in circulated notes: I can’t find a link to the report but here is a 1976 debate in Hansard on it (SEE HERE>)

• Compare success of possible UK PR with that of countries with a similar culture to the UK

• PR = non adversarial, but cooperation and consensus – not us v’s them

• Anti-PR from Labour and Conservatives because of fractures in those parties

• ‘Goldilocks’ majorities

• Need to get bigger parties to support PR

Motivating Youth – the Under Thirties

• The word politics is a problem

• Lack of hope = Why bother

• Apathy and no interest

• Poor role models in Parliament, at home and in the community

• Sport needs more local facilities

• Legislation to prevent speaking out

• Communication – lack of political knowledge

• Too complicated….too many lies

• Poverty and insecurity plus young families

• Identify required and voting slip

• Possibilities

• Motivated by key issues = direct action

• Using social media more positively

• Sow the seeds of information:

  • Snapchat

  • Instagram

  • TikTok

• Registered = membership

• Produce TikTok videos of:

  • Climate Change

  • 2GBT (No idea what this is!)

  • Brexit

  • Future

  • Mental health

  • Sewage

  • Job Security

• Honest + Trust + Influence

Moving forward

• Universal Income

• Affordable accommodation

• Syllabus to go into schools – universal

• Politics in the context of their lives

• Citizenship, curriculum, topics, letter to parents

• Stripping away the parties image

• What happens if you don’t do politics

• Who to vote for

• Respect – talking to young people

• Stopping misconceptions

• Talk in the street

• Policies not parties

• Talk to your neighbours/parents

• Raise awareness

• Listen and ask for ideas

• Workshop model to take to schools and take something away

• Voices Heard – interviewing young people

  • Open Space facilitates in schools

  • Creative workshops to help young people express themselves

  • Getting people to tell their stories

  • Intergenerational learning

  • Homes, Health, Hope

What Limits to the Power of the Executive?

• No major funding changes

• Declarations of war – use of military force

• Reduced use of statutory instruments

• Reduce/remove whips

• Maintain independent judiciary

• PR

• No breaking international law/treaties

• Fully independent civil service

• General election when Prime Minister changes

• Leveson 2 and no foreign ownership of the media

• An effective OFCOM

How

• A written constitution

Impact

• Longer term policy

Broken Democracy Fixed

Broken = The building – confrontational Fixed = Purpose built, fit for purpose, right location

Broken = Process, language matters Fixed = Honest

Broken = Ethics Fixed = Open and transparent

Broken = Overall understanding of democracy Fixed = Teach in schools lots of other things need to be taught in schoolstoo – like climate, race history, sociology issues – would all add up to affect attitudes.

Broken = Disenfranchised Fixed = Digital voting

Broken = What we actually own as a society (Inequality) Fixed = ?

Broken = Standard in Public Life Fixed = Standards and ethics defined and overseen possibly by a second chamber

Broken = Public Services Fixed = Public services secure and protected for the future

Broken = The economy Fixed = A macroeconomic framework designed for public purpose

Broken = The role of government  Fixed = ?

Broken = The role of MPs Fixed = Full time MPs

Broken = Voting System Fixed = Electoral Reform

Broken = Lobbying  Fixed = Independent civil service implementing due process

Broken = Personality politics Fixed = ?

Actions for Fixing our Broken Democracy

• Written constitution providing the structure and roles and responsibilities for our democratic structures including the 7 Nolan principles

• Politicians set the political agenda, civil servants deliver it

• Education from an early age to inform and empower and how to make democratic change

• We spend for public purpose; to deliver the right balance of our 3 key elements : economy, social structure and the environment

• Local government given back responsibility, accountability and budget through decentralisation

• Measure success differently

• 2nd Chamber

  • Limit numbers

  • Remove patronage

  • Time limited

• Consider election by 3rds

General Election 2024 – ‘Don’t Vote for Me’

• Objective – Enhanced voter awareness via a free emailing to every household

• All funding secured

• Need for a campaign manager to undertake:

  • Liaison with Royal Mail

  • Liaison with press and other media

• If interested in being involved contact Alan Rayner at Alan555@gmail.com

The South Devon Primary

• Initial Steps

  • On the streets meeting and talking

  • ‘Democracy Meter’

• Leaflets

• Media Articles

  • Bylines

  • West Country voices

• Preparation for volunteers

• Public meetings in local halls, streamed

  • Candidates spoke and questions followed

  • Votes cast on leaving

  • Votes counted after last meeting

  • 78% for Lib Dems

• The model is being copied in other constituencies

• ‘Let’s be clever and vote together’

Creating Political Change Creatively – Through the Arts

• Attract (young) people

• Harness Festival Spirit

  • Run a festival – free of charge

  • Give a sense of community

  • People coming together and having a good time

  • Ask the council to contribute plus contributions in kind

  • How to get young people to organise it?

• Go beyond party lines

• Give young and other people a chance to express themselves

  • Street theatre

• Music attracts, lifts energy and engages

• Eg the film MR Bates Post office scandal

  • Get major companies to broadcast (make films)

  • Films by Franny Armstrong Rivercide

• Take projects into schools to raise political awareness

• Get speakers into Tapley Park events and Ocean Fest

• Ongoing – build the culture