Introduce ranked-choice voting for all UK elections
The way we vote in the UK is fundamentally outdated, often resulting in a situation where the winner doesn't have the support of the majority of voters. This can lead to a disconnect between the government and the people, as well as creating an environment where extremist views can thrive.
Our proposal is to introduce ranked-choice voting, where voters rank candidates in order of preference. This system would ensure that the winner is the candidate who is most widely accepted by the electorate, rather than simply the one with the most first-choice votes. This would lead to a more nuanced and representative form of democracy, where voters are free to support their true first choice without fear of splitting the vote.
Why Are We Letting Bureaucrats Run the NHS Instead of Patients?
How did we end up with a system where patients have to beg for treatments the NHS deems "too expensive," yet we spend billions on administrative bloat and opaque procurement processes? It’s madness. We've got a national institution, meant to serve everyone, bogged down in inefficiency.
My proposal is simple: introduce a regulated, competitive market for a defined basket of essential healthcare services. Think of it like Ofgem regulating energy prices, but for medical procedures and diagnostics that are currently rationed by waiting lists and postcode lotteries. Private providers, accredited and overseen by a new, lean regulator, would bid to offer these services. Patients would receive a healthcare voucher, tailored to their needs and age, which they could then use with any accredited provider, public or private. This forces efficiency and patient choice.
This isn't about dismantling the NHS wholesale.
Let's Cut the Bureaucracy That's Strangling Small Businesses, Not Argue With Old PMs
We need a radical simplification of business regulations to truly boost the economy. The current system is a tangled mess that disproportionately burdens new and small enterprises, stifling innovation and job creation. My proposal is for a single, unified online portal for all business registrations, permits, and compliance checks, drastically reducing the paperwork and time required to start and run a business.
This isn't about grand political gestures or listening to has-beens. It's about practical measures that help real people build things. Imagine a tradesperson needing just one login to manage all their legal obligations, instead of navigating multiple government departments and confusing forms. This would free up capital and time, allowing businesses to invest in growth, hire more staff, and offer better services.
Defence spending needs a reboot
I think we should introduce a zero-based budgeting approach to defence spending, where every line item has to be justified from scratch each year. This is needed because it's clear that our current approach to defence spending is inefficient and wasteful, with too much money being thrown at outdated programmes and projects that don't deliver what we need. We've got a military that's struggling to keep up with modern threats, and it's because we're still funding things that were relevant 20 years ago.
We've got to get smarter about how we spend our defence budget, and that means being ruthless about cutting out waste and inefficiency. That means looking at every programme and project, and asking whether it's really delivering value for money. If it's not, then we should be cutting it, no matter how much it's been invested so far.
Less Red Tape, Better Diplomats
Appointing ambassadors and senior diplomatic staff is currently bogged down in layers of bureaucracy and political patronage. We need to streamline this process, not add more committees. The focus should be on meritocracy and efficiency, not on creating another hurdle for already overworked officials.
Instead of parliamentary approval, which just adds another layer of political interference and potential delay, we should empower the Foreign Office to implement robust, transparent selection criteria based purely on competence and experience. Let the professionals handle appointments. If a candidate isn't qualified, they shouldn't even be in the running.
This means a serious review of how candidates are assessed, perhaps involving external, independent evaluators, rather than just internal politics.
scrap the coronation system
I propose we introduce primaries for all major parties to choose their leaders, it's the only way to ensure the people actually get a say in who's running the show. This is needed because the current system is just a bunch of backroom deals and stitch ups, with the public having no real input until it's too late.
The way it would work is simple, each party would hold a series of debates and votes, open to all members, to choose their leader, this would give the public a chance to see the potential leaders in action and make a more informed decision. It's not rocket science, the Americans have been doing it for years and it seems to work okay for them.
I'm not naive, I know the parties will resist this, they like the current system because it allows them to keep control in the hands of a small elite, but that's exactly why we need to change it.
What do you think?
Vote on individual policies, adapt them, or write your own alternative. Good ideas should be tested.