Lots of people, lots of ideas : discussed, shared, understood.

• Our media reminds us of their limitations, on a regular basis.
  
• Our political system (at least in recent decades) expects politicians to be dynamic and to act, but only to respond to the need for soundbites or to the pressures of getting re-elected.
  
• There are many other people with great ideas and with specialised expertise.

Politicians (and their political parties) are not (necessarily) the best people to be setting the political agenda, nor best placed — or even best resourced — to do so.

• The combination of these pressures on politicians is not likely to make them more open to listening to the best ideas. It is likely to make them defensive of challenges to their decisions, making them more close minded, not less.

So ... we need a different way of setting the agenda, focussing elected politicians on the task of competent administration of the detail.

What?

Talk Together brings together all the best ideas.
From Think Tanks and Interest Groups.
From members of the public and from Members of Parliament.
No one is too important, and no one is unimportant.

But, it's not just ideas. It's also explanations, background, costs, details - and what the impact of those ideas is likely to be. If we are to select the best ideas, then we need to understand why they are the best ideas. Ideas for the Future

And then everyone in the UK is invited to be part of putting all those ideas together, to form a real national manifesto - a real representation of what people across the UK, ALL the people, really think and what you really want to happen.

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How?

The first stage is the sharing of the ideas and the information.
All the ideas are pooled on the website, with relevant background information.
It is key that this information is robust, transparent, independent and impartial.
Nothing is hidden. But the essential details will be clear, easy to understand, and won't take long to digest.

The second stage is agreeing on the best ideas.
Agreeing on the ones which really represent what we want to happen.
Everyone in the country will be able to vote on every issue.

When you vote on an issue, you will have the opportunity to read the essential background about it, to help you understand the implications of supporting something.
Things will be explained really clearly, to make sure that no one is excluded.
The ideas may be important, but the words used to explain them can be easy to understand.

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Why?

• Our voting system is not sufficient for the modern world.
  We need other, coordinated ways of making it clear what we all want.
  With one vote every 5 years, we are trying to achieve three different things:

1. We are trying to select a good local representative;
2. We are trying to select the party which will be able to select the best administrators to run the country; and
3. We are trying to select the best manifesto to represent what we want to happen.
   
   We can't properly achieve all three things with one vote.
   We should concentrate our vote on selecting a good local representative, and trust that our representative will be able to select (or even be part of) a good government.
   But we need another way of setting out what the manifesto for the country should be.

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• We can't have a Referendum on every issue.
  It is a crude tool, time consuming, and expensive.
  A lot depends on how questions are phrased. On the whole, a government only holds a referendum when it is already pretty sure of the outcome. It is just about bolstering the strength of public support for what the government wants to do anyway.
  And holding a referendum is pretty expensive. Polling stations. Campaigning. Voting.
  Talk Together is about achieving everything a referendum could achieve, but with a lot more detail, a lot more insight and learning. And it's about achieving an overall manifesto of what the people actually want to happen.

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• Public opinion is poorly measured
  Well, we saw this before the 2015 General Election. Opinion polls are not very accurate, even at simple details like which Party is going to get more votes: the Conservatives or Labour.
  And yet, public opinion is very important to our politicians and to our government. They are worried about being re-elected in 5 years time, and they try to do what they think is going to make us happy enough to vote for them again.
  If our MPs don't really know what we want, how can they be doing what we want?
  We can do better than this, using information, inviting everyone to take part, and by sharing information, clearly, succinctly, impartially.

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• Lobby groups, interest groups, pressure groups.
  We need to ensure that what happens isn't down to the person who shouts the loudest.
  We need to represent all interest groups, not just those who are best organised, best financed, or best organised.
  It's excellent that there is so much passion out there for different issues. We all benefit from the great thinking and lobbying which interest groups bring to important issues. We need to hear from all of them, pool our ideas and our energies, and to ensure that we are all heard. We need to ensure that the government knows what we want to happen.
  

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• The Wicked Issues.
  We need our government to deal with the difficult problems, too. Not just the easy ones.
  Our electoral system drives ministers and MPs to think short term - to the next election. But many things which need doing which have a longer term impact. Ministers think that voters are not prepared to put up with a bit of short term effort, even if the long term effect is much better for the country, and for all voters. But that's simply not true. We are not stupid, and we know that good things can take a bit of effort. We need to make that clear.
  

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• Ministers Decide
  More generally, we need to encourage consensual, less confrontational government. We just need existing systems to be competently administered.
  Ministers are encouraged to make an impact, to make their mark, but what we need is quiet competence from our ministers
  We need a system which encourages due deliberation, considering all the options, taking counsel, drawing on advice, considering the impact of a policy, and the assent (or at least the acquiescence) required for a policy to work. We need our politicians to take time to consider how a policy is actually to be realised.
  We need this, as a first step in increasing the respect which the public could hold for our political class.

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Engagement

People are passionate about issues. That's great.
Issues which concern them directly - their street, their work, their lives.
Issues which they care about simply because they are important.

We need to combine passions, energy, effort, enthusiasm
We need overall themes, coordination. We need to cost out what we are lobbying for — including the cost of not doing it!
We need to explain how our issue fits in with a coherent, sensible plan for a better future for the whole country.
We need insight, not just assumptions.

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Get Involved

Get ready. Listen. Read. Think. Share. Vote.

Register your interest, and we will send you regular updates.

Get ready to share your own ideas. Everyone can be part of it, and if you have a good idea, then we want to hear from you.
Register now, and we will send you more information as soon as we can.

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Latest Updates: Where is the project at the moment?

We are currently in a developmental phase, both with technology and with the leading think tanks, as well as with many other partners, such as media outlets.

In due course, we will be ready to start pooling the first ideas, and you will be able to learn more about what all sorts of good people think is important, and make up your own mind.

There will also be the opportunity for you to respond directly, on our blog, and part of the Talk Together website will be open for you to suggest your own edits (wiki)

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