With Labour party about to reacquaint itself permanently with abyss – should be a great watch – and GG’s Workers Party still fighting the won Brexit battle, I think the time is right for a new movement that will change the face of Britain and, hopefully, act as a catalyst to start a wider global change. I like George and considered joining his new venture but there are several issues and they need to be addressed for they are not stand-alone. First, the name – it’s a little 1920s. That time has passed. Momentum, for example, has a nice and positive ring to it. Workers Party sounds too revolutionary and socialist and may put off a lot of people who might subconsciously agree with socialist policies but have a bad association that comes with the actual name. That brings us to the second point, a new party cannot be overtly confined to one ideology: communists, liberals, socialists, conservatives etc. That time has also passed. It should have socialist policies – for this is what we need right now – but we shouldn’t politicise it. It will be tough but it has to happen. It must have the best of all worlds. Finally, Workers Party makes another mistake but attaching itself to Brexit. I am a committed Brexiteer but that battle has been fought and won. We need to move on. Their heart is in the right place but it requires some serious PR surgery. Even George – a legend in many ways – needs to stop fronting the vanguard. Grey cardinal yes, but he fought too many battles and got too many scars and too much baggage as a result. Sorry mate.
With all this in mind, I want to start a new movement called Young & Old United: YOU Movement – subject to better suggestions. First, the plan is to win in UK and help nurture YOU movements in other countries. In Europe to begin with, then US and then the rest. Aim: loosely unified global political system focused on peace, cooperation and sustainability. Each country would be a little bit different (people are different) but I expect education system (preparation of humans for life) to be very similar. This is its political manifesto – a work in progress – for the XXI century:
NB: If you are reading this, approve and would like to participate then please get in touch on twitter.
Economy:
- Main sectors: Services (Finance, Accounting, Law), Sustainable Energy (one of two core industries: self-sufficiency), Sustainable Agriculture (another core industry: self-sufficiency in basic foods: grains and meat), Media (comparative advantage: cinema, theater, music) that ties up with strong Tourism sector. Finally, Technology (aim: world capital of VC and entrepreneurship).
- Bottom line here: in a time of great crisis, there must be home produced food and electricity to feed and power our country in case all supply chains fail.
- Full exit from carbon and non-progressive sectors: chemical, automotive, oil & gas
- Green Industrial Strategy
- Universal Basic Income
- Gradual Wealth Taxation to bring some sense of fairness and balance to Project UK
- Grand Ambition: Britain to become The Brain Center of the world. The new Rome. The new Babylon.
Foreign Policy:
- Neutrality (time to go the Swiss way, save money on nukes, have UK removed as a potential nuclear target and be the first great power to retire)
- Soft power champion (diplomacy, arts, education, innovation)
- Leave NATO and campaign for its dismantlement: ++with RUS & China (great powers)
- Act as bridge between US and Europe; Europe and Asia through its cultural diversity
Education:
- Complete overhaul of subjects studied
- Abolition of private schools and introduction of free universal education
- Focus on: Practical maths, English (mind), English Literature (mind), History (purpose), Languages (, PE (health+teamwork)
- Introduce cinema and music education: so people know who Antonioni/Bach are. Something the overwhelming majority won’t get at home. The Foundation knowledge. Not lectures but actual film viewing and listen to music for 20-30 minutes straight. Shape the mind, make it more cultural from an early age.
- Altruism & Empathy. Teach students empathy from Year One: Towards animals (through local animal shelter visits, voluntary in-school and other activities) and fellow human beings (team-work, selflessness – in combination with PE classes). Community spirit nurtured from day one. Future criminals and psychopaths are formed in schools – cut it at its root.
- Reduced burden on teachers: no homework of any kind and increased pay. We must attract best minds here. Make the profession truly privileged. For teachers, in essence, will become second parents.
- A standard UK graduate: Mathematically literate, knows native language well (both written and spoken), knows history of its country and its interactions with the world, fit/flexible/strong (higher productivity, less burden on NHS, increased happiness), fluent in one additional language (Chinese, Indian, Arabic, Spanish – to cover all continents), cultural (at ease with pillars of global culture) and, most importantly, empathetic/altruistic – (from young age, love for animals, environment and fellow humans will be drilled into students). All other countries will strive to copy our system. We will create the new norm.