A Better Party
UNITEDPEOPLE HAS
NO WHIP SYSTEM
TRUE DEMOCRACY
UnitedPeople does not have a whip system within its party structure. "Party Whip" is just a PR name for "official club bully". We consider a whip system undemocratic. It's institutionalised bullying made legal and just because it's also then legal, does not make it morally right either! A whip system in place, is by immoral law of a country, allowing people to be threatened. We have political Mafia's operating on Irish soil operating in such a bullying fashion.
The position of "Whip" is used to bully or intimidate public elected representatives into conforming to the dictates of others including a party ‘leader’ that is supposed to the ultimate democratic representative of their party - not a top example of order from the top down.
The people elect individual people to represent them at local and national level. They chose one person what they assess, encapsulates their own views on matters and thus by choosing them, awards them with the honour to speak for them.
In whip using parties after any election, winner candidates are elected. The electorate immediately becomes either irrelevant or reranked in priority lower down the parties own overall agenda versus the mandate of local voters. Whipped TD's become a means to an end for political parties with a whip system. The TD's become party muzzled and disallowed from expressing the views of their electorate if it don't match their party ideology or agenda.
They do get to sit in the back seats of the Dáil awaiting the instruction of the party leader, and under threat of the party whip, as to how they should vote on any issue. If they are appointed a minister, junior minister or other ranked position as well as being a basic TD, they are under constant threat of replacement if they don't put party-line first - above local mandate(s) for party leaders strong arm dictates.
Everywhere else in the country bullying in the workplace, is illegal. In the Dail and beyond it as a TD, it's not only allowed, its carried out by the party whip and actively practiced on a regular basis. We repeat again, institutionalised bullying made legal - and actually put into rules as a practiced method to be inflicted on others.
We consider the out of date, barbaric system as also undemocratic. TD's are individually representatives of the people. How dare they be treated like that. Like pieces of dirt to be bullied around! Who the bullies think they are? They are not just bullying the elected representative but also their local voters behind them along with their needs and desires, their mandate. Where the democracy? Where is the decency?
The ‘Whip’ system facilitates bullying in direct contravention of the principles of any other workplace. For everyone else in the country such bullying and issuing of threats would not be stood for - and they are not. There are in fact Ireland and EU laws that prohibit:
* Purposely undermining a person.
* Targeting someone for special negative or discriminating treatment.
* The use of open or covet manipulation of an individual’s reputation.
* Forced social exclusion or isolation.
* Intimidation.
* Constructive dismissal.
And more.
These, together with promises, threats and indeed more devious ways to bully a dictate into being carried out, are practiced in the ‘whip’ system against elected representatives and, by extension, against their electorate. This is decent democracy? UnitedPeople does not think so. Democracy should be far better than this. The people that espouse democracy shouldn't be behaving like thugs, bullying their way, being very undemocratic.
The use of the whip system undermines true democracy, destroys it for elected representatives that have to suffer from such bullying and it demoralises the individual as they are made to suffer. Whips carrying out the same practices of a street thug, no matter how well it's PR polished and re-spun or excused, weaken democracy. They are sure not enhancing it.
The whip system is an antiquated, barbaric form of
abuse to true democratic principles and right to fair expression.
Public confidence in the integrity of the Government is indispensable to faith in democracy; and when we lose faith in the system, we have lost faith in everything we fight and spend for.
Adlai Stevenson I
Tried, Tested and then progressed.
People have joined UnitedPeople because they have liked the general or specific direction the party wishes go in direction on matters locally and nationally. People across Ireland have joined often in response to matters in their life that either upsets them or affects the lives of those they love. They seek genuine fairness and equality in many things while understanding that everyone has the right to seek better for themselves in legal ways while not creating exploitation of another. They all follow or lead in a general or specific direction.
"That sounds great but let's be real -
what if there is a difference of opinion?"
The members through fair and open discussion make decisions between themselves on how to carry out party policy and forward looking agendas. All members realise very clearly that all member are likely to never fully agree with each other all the time. There is always differences of opinion on everything. To think any different would be foolish.
Proposed ideas and agendas can be trashed out, bounced back and forth until they are tweaked to best consensus possible. Such ideas that are adopted are already based on the party's constitution principle's, the party direction already taken, seen by the joined member previously, and the member then already liked, before they joined.
"Yea, I get that - but what if there's
a MAJOR difference of opinion!"
For the times that a group cannot agree. a group adopts at least one of the primary or most supported ideas proposed, on a temporary time basis. This idea/agenda is then instigated with a number of protocols additionally attached. The protocols besides a time limiting factor, have necessary safeguards and idea/strategy success points that must be reached before any measure of achievement can be said to have been reached. Failure to achieve these success points, partially or fully, can be taken by a group that the idea/agenda proposed might therefore be workable with a bit more effort or further unworkable.
Having reached that conclusion, the tested idea/agenda could be:
(a) abandoned by majority consent,
(b) re-tweaked to the satisfaction to a majority of a group
(c) continued to be adopted while altered running alongside an additional idea/agenda or
(d) abandoned completely - only to be fully replaced by another proposal.
The important factor in all this, is the success points that have or have not been seen by a majority, to have been reached or not. The built in protocols allow various ideas to be proposed and tested fairly - especially to the satisfaction of others and for the evidence to others. They give reason to continue or justification to try alternates. They give further reason to keep trying, especially when in the face of clearer failures that haven't reached protocol created, success points or anywhere near them to be of satisfaction to a consensus majority of a group and/or to the public.
Failure to agree is not seen as sign of complete failure. Failure to reach a democratic consensus just indicates to us that we must continue to try seeking and doing better. Failure to reach a consensus is just a point to cross before we then get to success. UnitedPeople does this by more fairer and true democratic means. So we work even harder. We keep going until we do far better, for even more! We are not afraid to keep talking or do any hard work necessary to gain a better Ireland.
“Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.”
― Truman Capote
“Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
“Don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door. ”
― Coco Chanel
“All of old. Nothing else ever. Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
― Samuel Beckett,
“Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald
“If you fell down yesterday, stand up today.”
― H.G. Wells