Reform, Fairness & Participation
- Root and branch reform of the UK political system and culture.
Renew wants to fix our broken politics and change our political culture for the better. Renew would change the incentives politicians face and reduce the power of patronage exercised by political parties. Renew wants to open politics up to bring in high calibre outsiders and independent thinkers, to radically overhaul transparency in our public life, and to put people at the heart of our system in a way that will reinvigorate the development of ideas.- Clean up money in UK politics. – Overhaul all UK political donations. Strict limits to be applied to individual and company donations Sensible caps to be set on election spending.
- Increase transparency and accountability in our politics. – Make elected officials as accountable as private citizens for their actions. Put the Ministerial Code on the statute book.
- Make every vote in Parliament a free vote. – Ensure that elected officials vote according to their consciences and the mandate of their constituents, not under the duress of party officials.
- Introduce Term limits for MPs. – Make the job of MPs a public service, open to all, rather than a full-career role offered as a reward for party loyalty. Term limits will allow MPs to be more independent and broaden the pool of potential candidates.
- Establish Citizens Assemblies on constitutional and voting reform. – Examine models for regional devolution and equal votes.
- Repairing the social fabric
Our country works well for some and poorly for others. Furthermore, these disparities are becoming more entrenched from one generation to the next. Divided societies are less safe and less successful. The UK must be a stakeholder society where hard work is rewarded and where social mobility is far more commonplace. This will require reform of our system from childhood to older age, with a focus on compassion, living standards and repairing our social fabric.- Introduce subsidised day-care support for all children. – Implement a Nordic model that allows young couples to start families whilst pursuing careers.
- Retool our education system for the 21st century job market. – Renew the links between education establishment and the world of work, making employers stakeholders in education and training to ensure the provision of a competent and capable workforce.
- Ensure fair contributions from all sections of society. – Implement progressive taxes focussed on wealth as well as income. The increasing costs of social care must be borne by society as a whole and not just younger working people.
- Make homeownership possible for working people. – Incentivise housebuilding on government land and brownfield sites. The housing market must be rebalanced by harnessing the tax system to disincentivise speculation that distorts the market.
- Britain’s place in the World
Britain must be a respected thought leader and problem solver in regional and global challenges. Britain has always been an outward-facing nation. We recognise the benefits – economic, social, cultural – that come from engaging with other nations and people. We will always place the British people at the heart of our decision making, thinking strategically about our interests and acting always for the long-term. We need to walk our talk and demonstrate that we are honest brokers, acting out of enlightened self-interest.- Restore frictionless trade for UK businesses with Europe. – Remove the trade barriers that are damaging UK importers and exporters.
- Restore Freedom of Movement for UK citizens. – Eliminate the restrictions that limit opportunities for UK citizens, especially the young.
- Commit 2.75% of the UK’s GNI to diplomacy, defence and aid. – Consolidate budgets to encourage joined-up thinking on international engagement.
- Defend democracy in Europe as well as further afield – Propose an EUKUS pact to defend Western Democracy and an AUKUS pact for the southern hemisphere.
- Climate and environment
Going green has to be an easy choice as well as the right choice. Done well, it must lead to the creation of jobs and new businesses across the UK. It means providing predictability for investment decisions. It means regulating for harm avoidance and incentivising environmental stewardship. Stewardship of our natural environment takes a long-term view and recognises our dependence on a stable, livable climate and the huge social well-being to be gained from an accessible and thriving natural environment.- Establish Green Tech and Innovation (GTI) zones across the UK. – Implement business incentives that foster the creation of green jobs. Make the UK a world leader in green tech.
- Prevent green UK businesses losing out to carbon-intensive imports. – Establish a consistent and predictable border adjustment mechanism. The income generated will be reinvested in helping UK industry transition away from carbon.
- Introduce participatory budgeting at local level for all spending on environmental improvement projects. – Establish a permanent, national Climate and Nature Assembly to support public deliberation that helps set priorities for climate action.
- Democracy and technology
Renew would update the way we regulate online activity in order to protect individuals, ensure greater trust in our online media and seek fairer contributions from Big Tech for turnover generated in the UK.The speed of technological advances and the explosion of social media platforms have outstripped regulation made for an analogue world. The borderless nature of the internet has allowed big tech companies to separate their tax exposure from the locations where they make their profits. Hostile state and non-state actors have exploited weaknesses in this underregulated environment to manipulate democratic processes in a number of countries.- Repatriate tax revenues on profits generated in the UK – Harness newly generated revenue to fund UK public services and reduce the tax burden on smaller UK-based bricks-and-mortar businesses.
- Create regulatory alignment between online and traditional media. – Reconcile the differences in the regulatory approaches to reduce social ills, such as online abuse, fake news, misinformation and political interference from foreign and non-state actors. (Responsibility for the distribution of content to be shifted back to the publisher.)
- c. Reduce online harms and reign in the digital free-for-all. – Compel tech firms to comply with existing UK harassment laws. Companies that facilitate harassment must be held accountable.