The Alliance for Democracy was an
electoral coalition
An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections.
Ea ...
of two
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
political parties, the
English Democrats
The English Democrats is a right-wing to far-right, English nationalist political party active in England. A minor party, it currently has no elected representatives at any level of UK government.
The English Democrats were established in 20 ...
and the
Jury Team
The Jury Team was a British political campaign established in 2009 to back independent candidates in United Kingdom domestic and European elections. Although it was a registered UK political party, it was described as an umbrella organisation gi ...
. The
Christian Party, and
Veritas
Veritas is the name given to the Roman virtue of truthfulness, which was considered one of the main virtues any good Roman should possess. The Greek goddess of truth is Aletheia (Ancient Greek: ). The German philosopher Martin Heidegger argues ...
were associates.
Its priorities were expanding the use of
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
s, promoting non-career politicians, and
cleaning up government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
and the processes surrounding the
selection of the
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
.
[Alliance for Democracy]
The Alliance was launched on 10 February 2010.
Background
Following the
2004 European Union elections, representatives of four parties who stood in those elections,
Robin Tilbrook
Robin C. W. Tilbrook (born 1958) is an English solicitor and political leader who chairs the English Democrats, a political party he founded. It advocates a devolved English Parliament, having previously advocated English independence from the ...
and Steve Uncles from the
English Democrats
The English Democrats is a right-wing to far-right, English nationalist political party active in England. A minor party, it currently has no elected representatives at any level of UK government.
The English Democrats were established in 20 ...
,
Steve Radford
The Liberal Party is a liberal political party in the United Kingdom that was founded in 1989 as a continuation of the original Liberal Party (founded in 1859) by former members who opposed its merger with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to ...
from the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
, Grahame Leon-Smith from the
Senior Citizens Party
The Senior Citizens Party was a political party in the United Kingdom from 2004–2014, which focused on the rights of people over the age of 50, senior citizens. They claimed a membership of several thousand.
The party was founded in January ...
and Richard Malbon of the
Countryside Party
The Countryside Party was a minor political party operating in the United Kingdom. It was formed on 22 May 2000 by Jim Crawford, a chiropodist and sport shooter who was the Northern Director of the Countryside Alliance. Much of the party's agen ...
met to consider working together in the
2005 General Election. They met twice at the
Friends House
Friends House is a multi-use building at 173 Euston Road in Euston, central London, that houses the central offices of British Quakers. The building is also the principal venue for North West London Meeting and the Britain Yearly Meeting
The ...
in
Euston Road,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and agreed a common set of principles under which to contend the election, intending to stand enough candidates to obtain a collective
party political broadcast
A party political broadcast (also known, in pre-election campaigning periods, as a party election broadcast) is a television or radio broadcast made by a political party.
In the United Kingdom the Communications Act 2003 prohibits (and previou ...
. However, the National Executive of the Liberal Party opposed the plan due to some of the policies of the Countryside Party, although that party did not stand at the election.
Although there was no formal agreement, candidates were co-ordinated so that with the exception of one constituency, the English Democrats, Liberal Party and Senior Citizens Party did not stand against each other.
Alliance for Democracy 2005
Foundation
Following the 2009 European elections, the English Democrats, Jury Team
The Jury Team was a British political campaign established in 2009 to back independent candidates in United Kingdom domestic and European elections. Although it was a registered UK political party, it was described as an umbrella organisation gi ...
, and Popular Alliance held a similar meeting to discuss working together at the 2010 General Election. The Popular Alliance involved the Christian Party, United Kingdom First Party, and Veritas
Veritas is the name given to the Roman virtue of truthfulness, which was considered one of the main virtues any good Roman should possess. The Greek goddess of truth is Aletheia (Ancient Greek: ). The German philosopher Martin Heidegger argues ...
, with Alan Wood of the United Kingdom Independence Party
The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...
attending one meeting. The English Democrats invited the UK Libertarian Party to join the discussions, but they declined to participate. The first meeting of the Alliance was on 7 November 2009, again at the Friends House in Euston.
2010 general election
Steve Uncles and Elaine Cheeseman from the English Democrats, George Hargreaves
George Hargreaves (born November 12, 1952) is a landscape architect. Under his design direction, the work of his firm has received numerous national awards and has been published and exhibited nationally and internationally. He was an artist in res ...
from the Christian Party, Paul Judge
Sir Paul Rupert Judge (25 April 1949 – 21 May 2017) was an English business and political figure. He served as Chairman of the Royal Society of Arts, President of the Chartered Management Institute, and Deputy Chairman of the American Managem ...
from the Jury Team, Robin Page
Robin Page (2 November 1932 – 12 May 2015) was a British painter. He was one of the early members of the Fluxus art movement.
Biography
Page was born in England in 1932. His father, Peter Carter-Page, was a humorist and cartoonist who worked ...
from the United Kingdom First Party, Therese Muchewicz from Veritas and Brian Buxton from the Popular Alliance discussed their plans for the 2010 general election, meeting five times in Euston and Vauxhall
Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...
and agreed common principles and to not to stand against each other.
The Alliance was led by the English Democrats and Jury Team. The Christian Party and Veritas had associate status, while United Kingdom First and the Popular Alliance withdrew as they were unlikely to field candidates. Following the launch of the Alliance on 15 February 2010, other parties were invited to join the Alliance, aiming to field 350 candidates. In the event about half this many stood.
Opponents have pointed to the diversity of viewpoints as a potential pitfall for the Alliance, noting in particular that while the Christian Party promises to "uphold marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
between one man and one woman for life", leader Sir Paul was married to his third wife after two divorces.[
English Democrats fielded 106 candidates in the General Election. These averaged 1.3% of the vote and one candidate saved his deposit. Jury Team and Veritas failed to field any candidates at all. The Christian Party stood against the English Democrats in 13 seats. Their candidates achieved less than 1% of the vote on average.
It was confirmed that the Alliance for Democracy has now been abandoned. All queries about the Alliance have now been requested to be sent to the English Democrats alone.
]
Manifesto
In 2010, the Alliance released a manifesto that the constituent parties agreed to use as a joint platform with these highlights:
*Negotiating the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
in a way that maintains the closest possible trading links.
*Requiring referendums to be held on a particular issue if there is a petition with signatures from 5% of the electorate.
*Limiting the amount the government can borrow each year to no more than 10% of its total expenditure. ..*Increasing to 10 years (from the current 3 or 5) the minimum time that immigrants must live in the UK before getting UK Citizenship, ..*Limiting the number of British troops
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkhas ...
sent to Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
to the average number sent by other NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
countries (relative to their population).
*Giving courts the ability to sentence violent criminals to “army style” punishment and training courses.
*Making private medical insurance
Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...
a requirement for all non-EU citizens obtaining visas for more than three months unless they are working and paying social security
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
.
*Allowing state schools the option of becoming independent state funded charities outside the control of the local education authority if a majority of parents agree (to be legislated separately in each of the four nations of the UK).
*Limiting the total amount that an able-bodied claimant
A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the ...
with no children can receive in tax credit
A tax credit is a tax incentive which allows certain taxpayers to subtract the amount of the credit they have accrued from the total they owe the state. It may also be a credit granted in recognition of taxes already paid or a form of state "dis ...
s and social security, including housing benefit, to 80% of the after tax minimum wage (currently to £157.67 per week for a person over 21).
*Changing the voting system for election to the House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
to direct proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
.
*Setting up an English Parliament
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...
to decide matters that relate solely to England.
See also
Constituent parties
* Christian Party
*English Democrats
The English Democrats is a right-wing to far-right, English nationalist political party active in England. A minor party, it currently has no elected representatives at any level of UK government.
The English Democrats were established in 20 ...
*Jury Team
The Jury Team was a British political campaign established in 2009 to back independent candidates in United Kingdom domestic and European elections. Although it was a registered UK political party, it was described as an umbrella organisation gi ...
*Popular Alliance
* UK First Party
*Veritas
Veritas is the name given to the Roman virtue of truthfulness, which was considered one of the main virtues any good Roman should possess. The Greek goddess of truth is Aletheia (Ancient Greek: ). The German philosopher Martin Heidegger argues ...
References
External links
Official website
Summary from the English Parliament online website
BBC Article on Jury Team & Alliance for Democracy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alliance For Democracy (Uk)
Veritas (political party)
Defunct political party alliances in the United Kingdom
Organizations established in 2010
2010 establishments in the United Kingdom