Partner spotlight

Simpol-UK

Simpol-UK, the UK branch of the not-for-profit International Simultaneous Policy Organisation (ISPO), has launched its website (www.simpol.org.uk) with the aim of putting UK voters back in charge of democracy.

The website gives a comprehensive overview of the organisation's Simultaneous Policy (SP) proposal and is the first phase of an internet strategy implemented by a team of volunteer developers who are pioneering adopters of SP.

Simultaneous Policy (SP) is the brainchild of British businessman John Bunzl, who devised the idea in 1998. The central premise is to move away from destructive global economic competition and towards fruitful cooperation, within the framework of existing national and international institutions and political processes.

The SP methodology is explained in Bunzl's book The Simultaneous Policy - An Insider's Guide to Saving Humanity and the Planet. The book has been praised by Tony Benn, Noam Chomsky and many other leading figures.

Simpol-UK has a growing membership of UK citizens who coordinate their votes to encourage Britain and other nations to cooperate in solving global problems. It is the first of many national Simultaneous Policy organisations throughout the world, working under the umbrella of ISPO. Spain, India, Canada, the US, and other countries are expected to follow. Adopters of SP believe ISPO offers a new way of restoring genuine democracy lawfully and peacefully, one vote at a time.

Site visitors are invited to "adopt" Simultaneous Policy, which means they pledge to vote not for a specific candidate but for any candidate, within reason who has pledged to implement SP, or to encourage their preferred candidate/party to pledge to implement the policy.

Instead of dividing people along party-political or other lines, SP unites them behind a common methodology, for which there is already widespread support. Until the advent of SP, this common policy had no means of effective political expression.

Josie Sawers, internet strategist at Simpol-UK, comments:

"We believe most people would agree to apply SP to the global problems of terrorism, unfair trade, environmental destruction, global warming, and the undue influence of multinational corporations. Countries need to work together to solve these major issues. However, the competitive global economy reduces the policy options open to governments, and consequently voters are frequently deprived of their democratic rights."

According to the latest Brussels poll, less than half of European citizens were planning to vote in June's EU-wide elections for the European Parliament. Meanwhile, UK local elections achieve a 32-34% turnout; and the 1999
European Parliament polls witnessed a turnout of just 24% - the lowest vote among EU member states.

"If citizens worldwide who currently abstain from voting decided to adopt Simultaneous Policy, we could see the beginning of the end of many major global problems within the next 20 years," Sawers concludes.

For further information, please contact: Josie Sawers, Simpol-UK, tel: 44 (0)779 357771, media@simpol.org.uk.