I have long felt that our political system has become skewed in favour of those who are in it rather than those (US!) outside. I have written before about the need to move from Westmister, where tradition weighs so heavily, to a purpose built centre with participants sat in alphabetical order rather than by party to break down the herd mentatlity. However, recent technologcal developments have meant that even that thinking is not radical enough and is certainly no longer relevant. Before the 2003 Iraq war, secondary school pupils organised protest by using their mobile phones and the world of political participation changed forever. The political model that we have is cumbersome and slow to change - it hasn't embraced the technological revolution in the past 10 years - and is effectively dying (as witnessed by disengagement). Younger people have become used to, and now expect, 24/7 access, 24/7 impact and 24/7 outcomes; they don't want to wait for committees to drag their way to decisions.
The challenge now is what will replace the present, obsolete model.
Perhaps this is the first step towards true, democratic decision making?
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