For approximately the last million years (it seems like it), I’ve been banging on to anyone who will listen about how actual bonafide democracy requires three things:
1: Formal & binding NOTA on ballot papers
2: A proportional voting system
3: Lying in public office & in the media to be illegal and punishable in the harshest terms.
The absence of these three pillars make democracy completely impossible. For this reason, the idea that the UK is one is laughable. One need only look at the litany of corruption engulfing the current administration and the apparent inability of any of us, or any official body, to do anything about it to understand this.
I therefore wholeheartedly welcome the current push to introduce rules to make it harder for politicians to lie with total impunity and commend the efforts of tireless campaigner Peter Stefanovic to help bring this about.
Sadly, however, I suspect that nothing will come of it and that whatever changes occur will be cosmetic only and easily circumvented. While calls for PR will no doubt continue to be kicked down the road endlessly by the only two horses that are really ever in the race as things stand.
NOTA remains the logical starting point for full democratisation of failing faux-democracies like the UK because:
1: It cannot be argued against without arguing against the concept democracy itself, once properly understood (it would therefore be achievable with enough widespread understanding of this fact) and
2: It’s very existence on ballot papers would make further real and lasting reform that much more possible – without it it’s hard to see how or why that would ever happen.
All power to everyone working towards the goal of full democratisation of the UK and wider world at this time. If only you could all see what a pivotal systemic leverage point NOTA represents and fully get behind our campaign… then, and only then, might we actually stand a chance of turning this undemocratic and increasingly fascistic global paradigm shift around.
Here’s hoping.
Read our white paper here to find out why we believe NOTA should be the priority of all democratic reformists.
Jamie Stanley
NOTA UK
29/04/2021
None of the Above UK 