Freedom and democracy go hand in hand. Democracy means people power. Representative democracy was necessary to scale up democracy in a time of limited technology. But it meant the people gave away most of their power to representatives. It’s time to restore the balance. Here's how....

2. ACT ONE
2
‘If a nation values anything more than
freedom, it will lose its freedom’
Somerset Maugham

3. Freedom
• ‘We the People’
• Authority of a state and its
government is created and sustained
by the consent of its people
3

4. The Evolution of Freedom
• Freedom is ‘the raison d'être of politics’
• Freedom and democracy should trump everything else
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5. ACT TWO
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‘If voting made any difference
they wouldn't let us do it’
Mark Twain

6. But don’t we already live in a democracy?
• The Isle of Man operates a form of representative democracy
• This is democracy in diluted form and is fraught with problems
1. Power transfer – electorate given too much power away
2. Policy bundling – issues need to be considered individually
and not bundled together. Supermarkets don’t bundle!
3. Time – representatives manifestos are stuck to election
dates. How is a mandate refreshed when circumstances
change?
4. Lobbying – unequal access to and influence over
representatives
5. Agency theory – conflicts of interest
6. Party politics – loyalty to the people or the party?
6

7. Representative Democracy
Problem number 1: Power has been
transferred away from the people
• Remember – Democracy means
‘people power’
• Power is now concentrated in the
hands of the few. This results in
volatility – not stability (eg the Iraq
War)
• If the candidate that the voter
chooses is not elected then they are
not represented
7
Nearly all men can stand
adversity, but if you
want to test a man's
character, give him
power

8. Representative Democracy
Problem number 2: Policy Bundling
• Limits choice
• Most commonly found in oligopolistic
and monopolistic industries
• The more policies in a bundle the
lower the probability of wanting all of
them
• Mixing of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ policies
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‘Can I have the protein
bundle please?’

9. Representative Democracy
Problem number 3: Time
• We only get to vote every four or
five years
• Representatives manifestos are
anchored in election dates
• How is a mandate refreshed when
circumstances change?
• In order to allow for change
manifestos have to become
generalised to the point they lose
meaning
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10. Representative Democracy
Problem number 4: Lobbying
• Lobbyists are the paid
persuaders whose job it is to
influence the decisions of
government
• Lobbying a £1.9 billion
industry in the UK
• Cash for questions and cash
for honours affairs
• Party political funding
• Jobs in industry ‘revolving
door’
10

11. Representative Democracy
Problem number 5: Agency Theory – Conflicts of Interest
• Interests of the party
• Government role
• Outside interests
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12. Representative Democracy
Problem number 6: Party Politics
• Tactical voting – with only one winner
it becomes a two part system creating
wasted votes as voters choose not to
vote for smaller parties
• Adversarial – people choose sides
rather than work together issue by
issue
• Disproportionate focus on swing voter
issues
• Party machine needs funding
• The ‘do / undo’ cycle
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Party politics a
key contributor
to low voter
turnout

13. ACT THREE
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‘Tell people there's an invisible man in the
sky who created the universe, and the vast
majority will believe you. Tell them the paint
is wet, and they have to touch it to be sure’
George Carlin

14. Representative Democracy: Does it Work ?
UK
• Over 75% of people feel they have little or
no power between elections and over half of
people feel they have no influence over
what the UK government does
• Only 25% of people trust MPs
• Only 14% of people think MPs are in touch
with public concerns
• Only 17% of the UK electorate have
confidence in Parliament
• Many of those who are registered choose
not to participate at elections, be they for
the UK Parliament, local government, or the
European Parliament
14

15. Representative Democracy: Does it Work ?
USA
• Princeton University study: ‘The preferences
of the average American appear to have
only a miniscule, near-zero, statistically non-
significant impact upon public policy’
• Their study took data from nearly 2,000
public-opinion surveys and compared what
the people wanted to what the government
actually did. What they found was extremely
unsettling: The opinions of the bottom 90%
of income earners in America has essentially
no impact at all
15
https://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/mgilens/files/gilens_and_page_2014_-testing_theories_of_american_politics.doc.pdf

16. Representative Democracy: Does it Work ?
Jersey
• Only 25% of individuals believe that they
can influence decisions that affect Jersey
• At the last election 70% of eligible voters did
not vote
16

17. Representative Democracy: Why Don’t People Vote?
• Political disengagement and dissatisfaction
– ‘A declining sense of the efficacy of politics generally and their
role in it ….. the politicians are all the same, they are not like us,
it does not make any difference’ (Dr Ruth Fox, Director of the
Hansard Society)
– ‘Citizens embrace the principle of democracy; the issue is that
politics is not delivering against that ideal’ (The British
Academy)
• The value of voting
– ‘Voting is a meaningless exercise. I'm not going to waste my
time with it. These parties, these politicians are given to us as a
way of making us feel we have freedom of choice. But we don't.
Everything is done to you in this country’ (George Carlin)
• Concerns about where power lies
17
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmpolcon/232/23205.htm

18. Representative Democracy: Why Don’t People Vote?
• Negative view of politicians
– Politicians not respecting and not listening to the public
– Politicians not being trustworthy and not keeping promises
– MPs just following the party line and whips
– MPs only being willing to engage with the public in a limited
way
– Politicians are not representative of the public
– The conduct of politicians being off-putting (for example, at
Prime Minister’s Questions)
– There are too many career politicians
– The main parties are too similar or do not appeal to voters
– Politicians are not representative of the public
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19. Expressions of People’s Disenchantment
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direct action through citizen
support for populist political parties
or campaigns through protest,
demonstrations or use of social
media
negative attitudes towards politics:
the motivations and behaviour of
political leaders are questioned; the
fairness and processes of governing
systems are queried and concerns
about the capacity are expressed
silent majority low voter turnout
and declining membership of
political parties
PROTEST
ALIENATION
WITHDRAWAL

20. ACT FOUR
20
‘Death is the solution to all problems. No
man - no problem’
Joseph Stalin

21. Solutions
• The scale of the evidence is enough to
make the argument that there is a
wider malaise in the relationship
between citizens and the political
system. The solutions will need,
therefore to be fundamental rather
than superficial
• Representative democracy is obsolete
and required real reform
• In order to restore faith and
engagement in the political system
the electorate require more controls
over the power that have delegated
to their representatives
21

22. Solutions
1. Veto – citizens have power to veto
any new law
2. Citizens’ initiative – requires
Tynwald to debate and propose
policy subject to approval via
referendum
3. Recall – citizens have power to
remove a representative for any
reason
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• Three important tools required to rebalance the system and
restore faith in politics:

23. ACT FIVE
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‘The horse is here to stay but the automobile
is only a novelty, a fad’

24. Direct Democracy
Never been done before !
• Athens 5,000 BC
• Switzerland - Old Swiss
Confederacy in 1291
• Power of recall exists in 30
countries across 5 continents
including the UK, Canada,
Germany, Poland, Japan,
India, South Korea, Costa
Rica, Taiwan, Mexico,
Argentina, Peru and Ecuador.
• Jury system
24
“This really is an innovative
approach, but I’m afraid we
can’t consider it. It’s never been
done before”

25. Direct Democracy
People aren’t interested in politics
• Correct
• People are interested in issues
• Voter apathy is a myth
• The apathy equation:
𝐾𝑣<𝐵𝑣
• The benefit of voting must
outweigh the cost of voting
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26. Direct Democracy
People aren’t qualified to make important
decisions
• National Careers Service Job profiles
– MP you must be at least 18, and be a citizen of
Britain, a Commonwealth country or the
Republic of Ireland
– Trainee in a bakery without any specific
qualifications. Some employers might ask for
GCSEs in English, maths or food technology
– Pharmacist you will need to complete a five-
year programme of education and training. This
includes a four-year Master of Pharmacy degree
and a one-year pre-registration training course
in a pharmacy
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27. Direct Democracy
People don’t have the time to get involved
• In practice, direct democracy is about
returning power to citizens when they
want it
• Government still governs
• Information is widely available
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28. ACT SIX
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‘A conclusion is the place where you get tired
of thinking’
Arthur Bloch

29. Conclusion
• Freedom and democracy go hand
in hand
• Democracy means people power
• Representative democracy was
necessary to scale up democracy
in a time of limited technology
• But it meant the people gave
away most of their power to
representatives
• It’s time to restore the balance
29
1. Veto
2. Initiatives
3. Recall

30. Anti-Democracy?
The things people say:
• ‘…MPs must not be left
vulnerable to attack from those
who simply disagree with them
or think that they should have
voted a different way on a
particular measure’ Nick Clegg
MP
• The recall mechanism is ‘an
intrinsic corruption of our
democracy’ Geraint Davies MP
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