News

It’s been a very strange few years in British politics. When we started the Something New journey, the world seemed at least somewhat rational, and the rules were fairly clear. Now, with truth becoming ever more of an abstract concept, a global pandemic, and the dark clouds of more crises gathering on the horizon, it’s a different place.

The Earth is our source of life. We will honour our commitments to international agreements on climate change, end fossil fuel subsidies and fossil fuel extraction and invest heavily in renewable energy.

Instead of starving our economy through austerity, we’ll invest in it! The minimum wage will be a living wage, we’ll create a national investment bank instead of handing out free money to big banks and we’ll invest in new jobs in green technology not white elephants.

Free to use and free from political interference and profiteering. We don’t trust politicians with the NHS - we’ll make it independent and protect its funding, ending the cuts and privatisation.

We don’t think the UK should leave the EU - we’re better off working together. If the UK does leave, we will aim to remain part of the EEA and EFTA. If we stay, we’ll campaign hard for reform, greater democracy and more transparency.

Council candidate offers a break from the same old politics with Something New

Whatever people’s sensible reasons for the Brexit vote, we are leaving them far behind in a race to a rose-tinted vision of the past. The UK is becoming a parody of itself, and the world is laughing at us.

Reducing the size of the House of Lords misses the point - we need bold reform of Parliament’s upper chamber.

New ideas and technology allow us to share power more widely, but established power structures will never voluntarily give it away. That’s why Openness isn’t neutral; instead it’s a new political movement for the networked age.

We are deeply opposed to the executive order issued by President Trump, the thinking behind it, and the failure of our Prime Minster to take leadership in condemning it. Representatives of Something New, Pirate Party UK, the Transhumanist Party, and Rebooting Democracy have come together to publish an open letter condemning the recent actions of both leaders, and are inviting more officials from minor parties to join them.

Our Parliament is woefully unrepresentative of the democratic wishes of the citizens it governs. Votes need to matter, it’s time for something new to replace First Past The Post.

The EU referendum has exposed deep divisions in the UK. We have to see this for what it is, and start to heal our country. We can only do that through collaboration, understanding, and bridge-building, not further division.

It’s not enough for the open movement to tinker around the edges of an industrial-era system and make a system that is more transparent and accountable, but just as dysfunctional. We need to present our vision of a better open future clearly and loudly, in the arena of public discourse.

Far from being undemocratic, as Brexit campaigners would have you believe, the EU has a much more democratic system than the UK.

Humanity, and the kind of world we want to live in should be the deciding factor in this referendum.

We need to rescue public discourse in the UK, and make it clear that hate and xenophobia have no place in our country.

Individual nations are becoming less relevant as we create communities and businesses over the network instead of with the people nearby. Also, we have to learn to think together globally to solve our biggest problems. With a future where nations don’t matter so much, leaving the EU seems a backwards step for us to take.

At Something New, we believe that the UK should remain part of the European Union. But we also know there are major problems with it, particularly around democracy and efficiency. The thing is, we’re better off fixing those from the inside, not stepping away, and so we’re encouraging citizens to Vote In on June 23rd.

Where are we going? What future are we heading for?

Are you frustrated with the current state of politics and democracy in the UK? Do you think we can do it better? Do you think our institutions need fundamental change? Then the future needs you!

It’s been 207 days since 7th May, when the Conservatives won a flimsy five-seat majority, and Something New stood in their first general election. In that time, the Conservatives have been busy, with everything from crushing our civil liberties, to dampening our right to strike and cutting thousands of pounds from working families. And that’s just the start of it.

So, the May 2015 election season is over, and it's time to look at our results. Something New stood three candidates in various elections, and while we didn't win any seats (all our elections were swept by Conservative candidates), we're pretty pleased with our results:

When we formed Something New last year, we did so with the bare minimum of people officially involved. Now though, it’s time to expand and share the load around a bit more.

Still making up your mind who to vote for in Horsham? Wish you knew what your candidates had to say on various matter? Well, we’ve had three public election hustings events here over the last few weeks, and now all the videos are up online.

In Horsham or South West Surrey, it can seem like your vote doesn't have much power. It's overwhelmingly likely that the Conservative Party candidate will win; to pretend otherwise is unrealistic. However, I want to make the case to you that you do have power, and that your vote can count.