TLDR at the end I just post how I propose to convince the new parliament.
If polling is anything near to close. Starmer will enter parlimemt on the 5th with a landslide majority.
Time for us to remember the court case PM Johnson won for the 350m lie on a bus. The high Court simply stated.
Parliment has made no law banning lies during a campaign.
Well we really do have an opportunity to convince Starmer to change that. With Sunak and Co clearly following the last elections lead. Lieing about the civil service backing up their cost estimates.
It is time parliment tried to build confidence in election claims. This would only be practical when it comes to provable falsehoods of fact. Such as the claims made about Starmers campaign. After they have been informed the civil service did not analyse the data they used.
Unfortunately forcing a party to follow its manifesto is not really doable. And if parliment made the law. The next parliment would cancel it.
How to convince Starmer et al
OK so most will remember back in the coalition. The new government claimed to want to be responsive. So they set up an official, way for the public to request parliment do things. Resulting in parliment responding with crappy excuses every single time 10k signatures. Or a dumb argument in committee at 100k.
Now consider a new majority land slide parliment. Walking into government on July the 5th. With a social media publicised request to make it illegal for election campaigns, to continue to publish claims known to be false.
Its a simple law. If your party has received evidence that your clai is false. You must stop using it or face legal punishment.
So assuming 10k votes. The new government would need to write a response claiming they think lieing is OK.
Pretty sure the electorate can eviserate them on social media after that. Changing their mind. The new tory opposition leader. (Or Lib Dem maybe?). Would sure as he'll leap on the new government for such a claim.
But honestly to get the response needed. 100k signatures and the parliment required to have a public committee debate on their right to lie in campaigns.
No new government with a huge majority is going to be willing to face that.
Help
If you have read this far. You will recognise, I am not great at grammar and my wording is not consise. So when it comes to writing the partition on the parliment website. Someone more skilled would be best. Or a discussion here as to the best wording etc.
Do please if this idea seem worth while. (Let's face it what have we to lose. A few mins a day signing a partition and posting to social media over the election. )
Then please join a discussion here. To try to push this idea forward over the next month.
Starmer on July 5th:
We've seen the desperation that fourteen year's of Tory chaos has brought us. They've even stooped so low as to lie in order to gain votes. Now that I am your prime minister I promise I will never lie and I will work tirelessly to improve the country for everyone.
Heckling news journo:
What about HumanPenguin's suggestion about making it illegal to lie in politics?
Starmer:
Now is not the time to introduce laws when our country is hurting, our children are hurting, our NHS is hurting after fourteen years of Tory chaos. We need to heal the division and come together. I've said that we won't lie and you should just trust me.
That's kinda pretty much how it will go, I think.
Hence the discussion,
The type of lie Sunak told is very different from the lies told at every election. It is not just more lies. It is a dangerous falsehood based on definable evidenced facts.
IE not that Labours policys will cost 2k. While that is a very questionable claim. Fact checking a Ready handles such things.
But the fact that the treasury supported his data. That was an outright lie. To the point starmer was publicly willing to call it one. Something political figures are historically more careful of them actual lies.
It is dangerous because voters know the civil service is not allowed to be politically motivated. They Camrose their jobs for it at any time. But during an election. It is more the a rule. It is the whole mandate of the civil service.
So when Sunak claimed this falsely, he was trying to override the existence of fact checkers by telling his voters he had more reliable independent evidence.
This is why I think, we need the partition to be very concise and well worded,
But also a social media compain based on that very clear limitation in what is being asked for.
iE we have 4 weeks and the whole of the Internet. To address these questions before starmer can dismiss them.
I think you need to take a step back and look at this more realistically - sure, Starmer could do this, but so could Sunak. What about Starmer's behaviour and U-turns makes you think he would?
I am not actually thinking of this as a choice.
My point is we need to convince enouth people it is possible and important enough. That Starmer or Rishi Responding to the petition with their usual waffle will achive something that terrifies and elected PM.
The first 100 days ending up with lower polling numbers then the election.
The UK has since the days of TV. Judged a politician on how that handle the first 100 days. And in general the UK is pretty forgiving. To the point PMs failing to out last a lettuce was almost unheard of. Much more so post even a close election. Every PM is considered to have a mandate at that point. So the laws he or she tries to pass are considered to be the most direct will of the people. (despite fptp meaning only 30% often choose that leader).
So while Sunak polls are so low its hard to imagine anything coming across as negative if he some how pulls a win.
Stammer already has worries about being less popular dispite the potential of a big win. Polling wise. He like most will be keen to avoid anything that looks like betrayal in that first 100 days where polling is watched closly by media.
So that is where our power lies. If we can get the support on social media. And form a well worded petition with well over 100k votes. Forcing the new parliament to disuse openly in committee where everyone can see their claims.
The issue is not so much if. But how we avoid everyone watching falling for the idea we are trying to cover all lies. Rather then clear and informed false facts. Like the tresury viewed our data and agrees. When the party knows full well the treasury has told MPs to not make that claim as it is false.
Honestly, best of luck and it would be amazing if you succeeded. Sadly I think actively supporting this requires a lot more faith in electoralism than I have.
I accepted after the Corbyn era that neither the Labour party nor the media care to actually hold politicians they like responsible for anything, including popular demand. Get 100k signatures and you'll get what you always get, a lame excuse and then you'll be ignored. Or even if Starmer came out today and said "Lying is okay", would that stop a Labour win? I doubt it.
You are never going to convince starmer - someone who is a bigger and more compulsive liar than Boris Johnson to make political lying illegal. Especially as lying will be what got him into the position of prime minister in the first place
