WHO WE ARE

People Power is for any UK citizens looking for an alternative to neoliberal economics. We aim to change the discourse around economic policy with a new framework and programme for government based around Modern Monetary Theory and the basic idea that the UK government issues our currency and is therefore not financially constrained. We want to spread the word amongst the general public, organically growing the movement and desire for change until our so-called 'leaders' find it impossible to defy us. The only way to defeat the far-right is a bold, progressive economic policy that meets the material needs of society as a whole: secure, well-paid jobs, affordable housing, decent public services, social mobility, and a sense of meaning and purpose to our lives. The cowardly conservatives that masquerade as 'sensible centrists' and the 'adults in the room' have failed us and cannot provide solutions to the problems they have created. They need learn from history, be quiet, and get out of the way. Their arrogance and egotism must not be allowed to pave the way for fascism like they did in the 1930s.

The original vision was for People Power to be a new party of the Left. However, in the last couple of months, we now have Zack Polanski leading the Greens, and the announcement of Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana's Your Party, so it is no longer obvious that there is room for another...

...at least not yet. Polanski is making some good noises regarding money creation and taxation but his narrative is not quite there. And Your Party's launch has been very poor, and damaged a lot of people's trust and confidence. I am also not a political activist or insider, nor have I built or run a political party before. I'm just an ordinary person that's sick and tired of watching the UK be continually flushed down the toilet with millions of lives deliberately sabotaged by the corrupt, greedy, and incompetent. Once we have a firm base of support then that will be the time to look at becoming a fully-fledged party.

The focus of People Power is on economic policy and changing the country to benefit the many, not the few. We are not going to focus on social issues much further beyond the principle that the government should generally stay out of people's private lives, and that people should be free to live how they like provided they are not harming anyone else in the process. Unlike pretty much every other party out there, People Power is not interested in telling you what to do or how to live. Our view is that the government's role is to clear the way for you to live your life as fully as you want. There are other, better-informed groups for social causes that are worthy of your support if that is where your passion lies, and best wishes to you if you pick them over us (not that you have to!). However, I'm not interested in engaging in obvious culture-war distractions designed to draw focus from how the 1% are robbing us.

Social justice is important and noble, but the best way to get it is to deliver economic justice first. People are more amenable to societal change when they have had their material needs met i.e. they have secure, well-paid employment, affordable housing, functioning public services that are available when they need them, and feel they have security and purpose in their lives. People who are struggling are focused on keeping a roof over their head and food on the table do not have the time or energy to care about a 'right-on' student or Guardian columnist being offended on social media. Any party that focuses on the needs of minorities over the needs of the majority may be morally right, but they will never win an election. That said, we cannot ask for people to stand with us if we are not prepared to stand with them. Social policy may not be the central plank of our platform but we will stand up against blatant injustice when we see it.

To social conservatives who don't like the idea of standing up for particular groups of people, sorry, but societal change is inevitable. The UK wasn't the same in 2005 as it was in 1975, 1975 wasn't the same as it was in 1945, and it's not going to be the same in 2055 either. It's understandable to find change scary but I choose to not to automatically reject the new and unknown, even if I don't always understand it. We can all try to be better people, nobody should stop growing as a person. It's good that non-typical people feel more comfortable to be who they are, and we should show solidarity with them when they are mistreated.

Similarly, to the social liberals, we cannot forget that the majority of the country are white, heterosexual and cisgender and they also have problems too, problems that the comfortable middle-classes pretended did not exist or were not important because they didn't want to talk about economics and class. We must meet everyone's material needs otherwise we roll out the red carpet for the Right. We must remember we are all part of the 99% and the real fight is against the 1% who want to own everything, rent it back to us, and tell us we should own nothing and be happy about it.

Human rights apply to everyone equally, even those you don't understand or like. Whatever side of the culture war you are on, the other one isn't asking you to be their best friend, wave their flag, or go to a rally, they just want you to treat them the way you want everyone else to treat you. If you can't agree with that, this is not the movement for you.

Thank you,

Simon

Founder of 'People Power'