Between Christmas and New Year, I started a petition.

It was a resonse to a number of things – how money buys influence in our political system and the increasing power of privately owned social media companies, with next to no accountability. There is so much evidence for the corosive affect this is having on our democratic system.

Think about how truth has become weaponised, how lies are now political praxis- not least the Boris Johnson litany of untruths (which he seems to carry no shame for) but also our current prime minister, who (arguably) lied his way to the leadership of the Labour Party.

Consider the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and how little has changed since. Where is the legislation that regulates such manipulation of our electoral system?

Now we have the spectre of a right wing party – actually, a company, owned by Farage – is being bankrolled hundreds of millions by a foreign businessman who has a history of ultra right wing libertarianism. The fact that Musk appears now to have fallen out with Farage only underlines the degree of chaotic intervention we are accepting within our politics.

What can we do to register our protest? Sometimes it feels like we can do nothing – but we can do this…

Please, sign this petition. If you can, give it a push on social media yourselves… Lets play them at their own game!

Here is the blurb

Elon Musk wants to fund Farage. This is the tip of the iceberg in terms of the way money and vested interests influences and shapes UK political narrative. We think this is a direct threat to our democracy, undermining and corrupting the whole project, leaving the door open for popularist extremes on both the right and left.

Money whould not buy influence. Neither should it be able to shape political narrative by controlling media  – particularly our social media – to create shifts in public opinon. 

We urgently need innovative and powerful new bill of rights to include the following;

Social media – a restoration of truth

We have to hold platforms like Facebook and X to account for spreading lies and misinmformation. We need to do this by the process of law. Huge conglomerates can not be allowed to shape our societies through algorithms. This requires meaningful fines and even breaking up the hold of individuals through monopoly laws. We need a powerful independent body who will hold all media to account.

Political funding and lobby groups.

We have to take the money out of politics. We are heading towards an American system where money buys influence. Make spending on political campaigns limited, and even public funded. Ban lobbying. Refuse Think Tanks access to media outlets unless they publish where their money comes from. 

Political and corporate links to end.

If you work in an industry and then go into government, you cannot go back. No minister can take a cosy job on a board either whilst in office or afterwards. All contact between people in public office and commercial/private interests to be subject to a binding code of conduct.

Truth in political office.

Introduce a three strikes rule in public office. Establish public watchdog to police it. Hold all politicians to account for spreading misinformation and missusing statistics. Penalties on a slinding scale – starting with gagging periods in which politicians are banned from making public statements for fixed periods, right through to exclusion from public office.