International Simultaneous Policy Organization
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The International Simultaneous Policy Organisation (ISPO) is a voluntary organization that promotes the Simultaneous Policy (Simpol) campaign. It was founded by British businessman, John Bunzl, in 2000.About Simpol-UK
uk.simpol.org - About Simpol-UK
/ref>


Description

The ISPO describes itself as "a growing association of
citizens Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
world-wide who aim to use their votes in a new, co-ordinated and effective way to drive all
nations A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...
to co-operate in solving our planetary crisis". It believes that transnational citizen action is vital because "
global markets International finance (also referred to as international monetary economics or international macroeconomics) is the branch of financial economics broadly concerned with monetary and macroeconomic interrelations between two or more countries. Inter ...
and
multinational corporation A multinational company (MNC), also referred to as a multinational enterprise (MNE), a transnational enterprise (TNE), a transnational corporation (TNC), an international corporation or a stateless corporation with subtle but contrasting senses, i ...
s so comprehensively overpower individual nations that no politician dares make the first move to solve global problems for fear of competitive disadvantage".ISPO: From Globalization to Sustainability - A New Global Policy for Social Justice
/ref> ISPO aims to overcomes this paralysis by bringing all nations to adopt in principle - and then to simultaneously implement - the Simultaneous Policy (Simpol), a range of democratically formulated regulations to bring about economic justice, environmental security and peace around the world.TED.com - TEDxBerlin - Crossing Borders (2012)
/ref> By supporting Simpol, ISPO's citizen-members pledge to vote in future elections for ANY political party or candidate - within reason - that has signed a pledge to implement Simpol's range of measures only when all or sufficient other governments have also signed. ISPO argues that, as more and more citizens act in this way, politicians will have no choice but to sign the Pledge if they wish to remain in office, or else they risk losing their seats to other politicians who have adopted it. One of its slogans is "Use Your Vote to Take Back the World!"Simpol.org - Campaign concept
/ref>


What is ''Simultaneous Policy''?

Simultaneous policy requires governments in all jurisdictions at once, worldwide, to implement a policy shift at once, so that none is disadvantaged or unfairly advantaged. The idea of the need for simultaneity of sovereign state action is not itself a new idea - it is the basis of
treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations An international organization or international o ...
and
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
initiatives that nothing can be done on certain problems, such as
disarmament Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as n ...
, until all major players agree to a common timetable of implementing solutions. However, according to the process offered by ISPO, what appears to be new is that citizens who "adopt" the Simultaneous Policy (Simpol) take the formulation of global policy into their own hands. Furthermore, according to ISPO, their adoption of Simpol represents their pledge to vote in future elections, not for a ''particular'' politician or political party, but for ANY politician or party - within reason - that pledges to implement Simpol's package of policies alongside other governments. With more and more parliamentary seats and even entire elections increasingly being won or lost on very small margins, a relatively small number of Simpol adopters have the opportunity, ISPO claims, to make it in the strong interests of all politicians and parties to pledge to implement Simpol's policy package while also making it potentially disastrous for them if they fail to do so. As such, ISPO claims that civil society, through its adoption of Simpol, can for the first time lead governments, rather than governments leading the people. The
International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
and GlobalGreens both recommend certain simultaneous policy initiatives, and closer coordination of their members in many nations. Such cooperation is seen as a way to work within a competitive global market economy without disadvantaging the most 'progressive' players who strongly protect ecology and the worker. Simultaneous initiatives are seen as a way to avoid
Prisoner's dilemma The Prisoner's Dilemma is an example of a game analyzed in game theory. It is also a thought experiment that challenges two completely rational agents to a dilemma: cooperate with their partner for mutual reward, or betray their partner ("defe ...
type problems, wherein there is a strong reward for defecting, and a risk for going along with a proposed plan if there is even one defector. Another example problem of this nature is
agricultural subsidies An agricultural subsidy (also called an agricultural incentive) is a government incentive paid to agribusinesses, agricultural organizations and farms to supplement their income, manage the supply of agricultural commodities, and influence the ...
to domestic farmers. A nation abolishing such subsidies stands to lose much of its
family farm A family farm is generally understood to be a farm owned and/or operated by a family; it is sometimes considered to be an Estate (land), estate passed down by inheritance. Although a recurring conceptual model, conceptual and archetype, archet ...
infrastructure to cheap imports unless a simultaneous initiative in another country, or in
tax, tariff and trade A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...
to make up for lost subsidies, takes place. As this example suggests, the policies that are put in place simultaneously may be more complex than initially realized, and may require the cooperation of multiple branches or levels of government within one country, in addition to global cooperation.


Diversity of Support

Individuals and politicians who have adopted ISPO's simultaneous policy have come from all parts of the political spectrum. "SP provides a global regulatory and governance framework within which global free markets can operate freely, fairly, and within sustainable environmental limits." John Bunzl.guardian.co.uk
Synchronised thinking , Comment is free , guardian.co.uk
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Scope

The Simultaneous Policy presently has
campaigns Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme *Bl ...
running in twenty seven countries:Simpol.org - Contacting Simpol in your country
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Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
,
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
,
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
, East Africa region,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
,
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
,
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
,
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
,
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
,
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
,
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
As the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
was first to campaign it has more politicians who have signed the pledge. These politicians come from across the
political spectrum A political spectrum is a system to characterize and classify different political positions in relation to one another. These positions sit upon one or more geometric axes that represent independent political dimensions. The expressions politi ...
: *
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
:
Philip Hollobone Philip Thomas Hollobone (born 7 November 1964) is a British Conservative Party politician and former investment banker. He has been the Member of Parliament for Kettering since the 2005 general election. Early life Hollobone was born on 7 Novem ...
MP (2006),
John Penrose John David Penrose (born 22 June 1964) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Weston-super-Mare since 2005. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the United Kingdom Anti-Corruption Champion at the Home Office fr ...
MP (2005), Henry Smith MP (2010) *
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
:
Caroline Lucas Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who has twice led the Green Party of England and Wales and has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Pavilion since the 2010 general election. She was re-elected ...
MP (2004) *
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
:
Roger Godsiff Roger Duncan Godsiff (born 28 June 1946) is a British former politician who served as the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) from 1992 to 2019, for the seats of Birmingham Small Heath, Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath, and Birmingham Hall ...
MP (2007),
John McDonnell John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington since 1997. ...
MP (2005),
Catherine McKinnell Catherine McKinnell (born 8 June 1976) is a British Labour politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle upon Tyne North since 2010. Early life McKinnell was born and raised in Denton, Newcastle upon Tyne, where she attended t ...
MP (2010),
Grahame Morris Grahame Mark Morris (born 13 March 1961) is a Labour Party (UK), British Labour Party politician. He was elected at the 2010 United Kingdom general election, 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Easington (UK Parliament c ...
MP (2010) *
Liberal Democrat Several political party, political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democracy, liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties ...
:
Tom Brake Thomas Anthony Brake (born 6 May 1962) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Carshalton and Wallington in London from 1997 to 2019. He was appointed Director of the cross party pressure group Unlock ...
MP (2007),
Annette Brooke Dame Annette Lesley Brooke, Officer of the Order of the British Empire, DBE (''née'' Kelly; born 7 June 1947) is a British Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrat politician. She was the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parlia ...
MP (2010), Lorely Jane Burt MP (2006),
Mike Crockart Michael Bruce Crockart (born 19 March 1966) is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh West from 2010 to 2015. Crockart was the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Michael Moore, the ...
MP (2010),
Lynne Featherstone Lynne Choona Featherstone, Baroness Featherstone, (''née'' Ryness; born 20 December 1951) is a British politician, businesswoman and Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords. Prior to entering politics, Featherstone was a successful bus ...
MP (2006), Don Foster MP (2006),
Duncan Hames Duncan John Hames (born 16 June 1977) is a Director of Policy at Transparency International UK and a former Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Chippenham constituency in Wiltshire from 2010 to 2015. Betwee ...
MP (2005), Andrew George MP (2004), Mike Hancock MP (2004),
Martin Horwood Martin Charles Horwood (born 12 October 1962) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who represented South West England in the European Parliament from 2019 to 2020. He previously served as the Member of Parliament for Cheltenham from 2005 t ...
MP (2007), John Leech MP (2010),
Stephen Lloyd Stephen Anthony Christopher Lloyd (born 15 June 1957) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who was twice Member of Parliament (MP) for the seat of Eastbourne. Born in Kenya, he was privately educated in Surrey, before working first as a co ...
MP (2010),
Adrian Sanders Adrian Mark Sanders (born 25 April 1959) is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Torbay in Devon from 1997 until his defeat in the 2015 general election. Early life Sanders is the son o ...
MP (2005), Mark Williams MP (2006) *
Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...
:
Elfyn Llwyd Elfyn Llwyd (born 26 September 1951) is a Welsh barrister and politician. He was a Member of Parliament, representing Meirionnydd Nant Conwy in the House of Commons from 1992 to 2010 and Dwyfor Meirionnydd from 2010 to 2015. Llwyd was Plaid Cy ...
MP (2010) Individuals who have signed but are no longer MPs are:
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
: Sir Richard Body;
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
:
Celia Barlow Celia Anne Barlow (born 28 September 1955) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hove from 2005 to 2010. She also worked as home news editor at the BBC. Early life Barlow was born in Cardiff, Wales, an ...
,
Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British politician, writer and diarist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s. ...
;
Liberal Democrat Several political party, political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democracy, liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties ...
:
Lembit Öpik Lembit Öpik (, ; born 2 March 1965) is a former British politician. A former member of the Liberal Democrats, he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Montgomeryshire in Wales from 1997 until he lost his seat at the ...
,
John Hemming John Hemming may refer to: *John Hemming (historian) (born 1935), British explorer and author *John Hemming (politician) (born 1960), British politician See also *John Heminges, co-publisher of Shakespeare's works after his death *John Hemings Jo ...
simpol.org
Endorsements
/ref>

In addition, there exists a growing number of Simpol
partner Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to: Books * ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997 * ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928 * ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart * ''Partner'' (m ...
organisations that support the democratic aims and principles of the Simultaneous Policy. These include the
Canadian Action Party The Canadian Action Party (CAP) (french: Parti action canadienne, PAC) was a Canadian Canadian confederation, federal political party founded in 1997 and deregistered on 31 March 2017. The party stood for Canadian nationalism, monetary reform, mo ...
and the
Global Justice Movement The global justice movement is a network of globalized social movements demanding global justice by opposing what is often known as the “ corporate globalization” and promoting equal distribution of economic resources. Movement of movements ...
. The
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n
Federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
of October 2004 saw 59 candidates pledge their support for Simpol. In the UK 200+ candidates for the elections of 2010 pledged to implement the Simultaneous Policy, of whom 24 were elected as MPs.uk.simpol.org - MPs who have signed the Simpol Pledge
/ref> Former
President of East Timor The president of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste ( pt, Presidente da República Democrática de Timor-Leste; tet, Prezidente Republika Demokratika Timor-Leste) is the head of state of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste. The executiv ...
José Ramos-Horta José Manuel Ramos-Horta (; born 26 December 1949) is an East Timorese politician currently serving as president of East Timor since May 2022. He previously served as president from 20 May 2007 to 20 May 2012. Previously he was Minister of Fore ...
has pledged his support for the policy.


See also

*
Free trade zone A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re- exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to cus ...
*
Treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations An international organization or international o ...
*
Hegemony Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one State (polity), state over other states. In Ancient Greece (8th BC – AD 6th ), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' city-state over oth ...
*
World government World government is the concept of a single political authority with jurisdiction over all humanity. It is conceived in a variety of forms, from tyrannical to democratic, which reflects its wide array of proponents and detractors. A world gove ...


References

{{reflist, 30em


External links


Official site

Short video outlining SIMPOL

Video interviews concerning SIMPOL campaign
Global policy organizations Organizations established in 2000 International political organizations Political campaigns Election and voting-related organizations Electoral reform groups