The de Borda Experiment - Guidelines & Schedule

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The experiment:

Phase 1: "Ideas" forum (closed) ¦ Phase 2: "Debate" forum (closed) ¦ Phase 3: "Ballot" forum (closed) ¦ Vote (closed) ¦ The results

An experiment in consensus voting and e-democracy

This page describes the context of this experiment (the funding of the political process in the UK) and describes how the experiment is approached.

Introduction

This experiment in consensus voting intends to study the question of how the democratic process in the UK is to be funded and, if so, under what conditions. The subject concerns political institutions currently in existence: both chambers of the Westminster Parliament (with the main emphasis on the Commons), plus the three unicameral chambers of the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly, and the ni Assembly. Regional and local councils are not included.

The pilot takes into account the following:

i) there are large and small political parties, some of which operate on a UK basis, others of which are confined to a particular nation or region within the UK;

ii) some political parties are represented in more than one of the above chambers, but none are present in all;

iii) while most politicians are affiliated to a particular political party, some stand as independents;

iv) the four elected chambers are chosen under different electoral systems (FPTP for the Commons, AMs for Scotland and Wales, PR-STV for Northern Ireland);

v) different funding arrangements are in operation at the moment in Northern Ireland (but the intention is to have one uniform system soon);

vi) the Commons operates under a system of single-party majority rule, a minority coalition rules the Scottish parliament, the Welsh have a majority coalition, while the Northern Ireland Assembly uses the consociational arrangements as stipulated by the Belfast Agreement; and

vii) some but not all political activities are restricted in terms of cash expenditure, namely, campaigns for referendums and elections.

The Status Quo

At the moment, parties and independents represented in any of the above chambers receive certain monies from the government. In addition, at election times, they receive in kind: mailshots and party political broadcasts. It should also be said that some politicians receive monies for various activities - media appearances, public speaking events, and so on.

A third source of income consists of donations: political parties and independents can and sometimes do receive monies from both individuals and/or institutions. Under present laws, donations are limited both in size and in origin: anything over £200 has to be declared, and "must come from a ‘permissible donor' ". This is "anyone on the UK electoral register, companies or organisations registered and carrying on business in the UK, trade unions, and unincorporated associations." (Review, p 10.) For the purposes of this pilot, citizens and institutions who/which are Irish shall not be regarded as foreign.

Campaigning in general elections is currently restricted to £30,000 per constituency. This meant, in practice, that the two big parties spent something like £19m in the last contest.

Your Proposals

As far as this experiment in consensus voting is concerned, may we ask that suggested options refer to funding those who aspire to, and/or who are in, political office, and/or to any subsequent expenditures. May we also emphasise the fact that while the institutions of government have a direct impact on the role of political parties - the number of elected chambers, the electoral system, the form of majority government based on a single party or a majority coalition, and so on - we nevertheless wish to confine this particular debate to the question of financing political activities of those who serve and/or aspire to serve in the above elected chambers of the UK.

Your suggestions may relate to:

the amount of funding, if any, and the basis on which it will operate;

and/or

restrictions on current forms of funding, individual or corporate;

and/or

conditions controlling the expenditure of funds, those from the state and/or those from other sources.

You may send in any thoughts on any aspect of the topic, either on one or more of the above three or maybe on something else, and/or you may send in your proposal for a policy option. Please restrict your submissions of either variety to a maximum of 200 words.

Before the consensors publish a draft list of options, they will edit your proposals, but only to ensure that all suggestions are included (either verbatim or in composite), that all options are of roughly the same length, that all aspects are covered in each option, and that all options have the same sort of structure. In other words, every draft option will be a complete policy option, ready for inclusion on the final ballot paper... perhaps. But that finality, of course, will depend upon the debate.

The consensors also have to ensure that the list of options always represents the full debate and is always balanced. The options may change, therefore, as the debate proceeds.

References:

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/media-centre/newsreleasereviews.cfm/news/595

http://www.partyfundingreview.gov.uk/htms/download.htm

Programme

The programme for the whole exercise is as shown although, Phase 3 may be extended, depending on the demand.

Phase

Starting Date

Closing date

Mon 4th Feb

Mon

25th Feb

Mon 18th Feb