Our Manifesto

The Path

The Honest Premise

There is no shortcut. The system we propose will not be built in one election cycle, and it will not be built by one charismatic individual. It will be built by patient, disciplined organising - from the street level up.

The Stages

Stage One - Community Organising and Demonstration Assemblies

The first stage is proof of concept. In towns, neighbourhoods, and communities across the country, we convene demonstration assemblies - small, deliberative gatherings that tackle real, local questions. These are not symbolic exercises. They produce real decisions, and where possible, real outcomes.

The purpose is twofold: to show people what deliberative democracy looks like in practice, and to build a network of trained organisers and facilitators who know how to run an assembly.

Stage Two - Devolution by Demand

As demonstration assemblies grow in number and credibility, we begin campaigning for formal devolution of decision-making power. Local authorities are invited to pilot citizens' assemblies with binding or advisory powers. Where councils refuse, we make it an election issue.

Stage Three - Local Elections

Participate fields candidates in local elections - not to govern in the old way, but to implement assembly-based governance. These candidates commit to a simple mandate: to establish citizens' assemblies in their area, with binding decision-making power over local budgets and planning.

Stage Four - General Elections

Once we have demonstrated that assembly-based governance works at the local level, we contest parliamentary seats. Participate MPs are not ordinary politicians. They serve one term only. They draw a median salary. They are bound to implement the assembly model nationally.

Stage Five - Building the Parliamentary Majority

The goal is not to win one election. It is to build a parliamentary majority large enough to pass a constitutional referendum. This takes time, credibility, and discipline. But it is achievable.

Stage Six - The Constitutional Referendum

With a parliamentary majority secured, Participate calls a referendum on a new constitution - one that establishes assemblies as the primary mechanism of governance, protects fundamental rights, and sets out the rules by which the system can be updated.

Stage Seven - Transition and Dissolution

Once the constitution is ratified, the transition begins. Parliament becomes a coordinating body, not a sovereign legislature. Assemblies at every level assume decision-making power. And then - crucially - Participate begins its dissolution.

Stage Eight - The Self-Dissolving Party

A party that believes in direct democracy cannot hold power indefinitely. Once the new system is established, Participate winds itself down. Its MPs do not stand for re-election. Its organisers return to civic life. The machinery is handed over to the people it was built to serve.

What We Ask of Supporters Today

Join a local assembly. Host a demonstration. Learn to facilitate. Organise your street, your workplace, your community. This is not a movement you watch. It is a movement you build.