Let not anyone pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name, and with the means which he helps to supply, because he will not trouble himself to use his mind on the subject.
John Stuart Mill. Address at St Andrews University. 1867
A New Political Force
Statement of Intent
As the British Democratic Alliance establishes its membership and financial base, we will formalise our support for independent organisations that safeguard the foundations of a free society. This will include supporting and joining the Free Speech Union. A resilient democracy depends on the protection of open expression, dissent, and public criticism. These principles are not optional for us; they are central to our mission and will guide our conduct as a political movement
The British Democratic Alliance has been founded as a new political force, determined to return power to the people who live on these islands we all call home. The current political system is not a true democracy but a hypocrisy. The people have been granted the vote, yet in reality, this was little more than a device to silence calls for genuine democratic reform. The first-past-the-post system used to elect MPs and Governments is outdated, unfair and undemocratic. It serves institutions of power, not the people or the nation. Much of our system of government and law requires considerable reform to truly reflect the will and needs of the people.
For more than 80 years, successive governments have grown increasingly inept, corrupt, and indifferent to the people they claim to serve. Power has been hoarded within narrow political circles while public trust has been steadily eroded. They have fuelled division across our society — political, social, and even religious — fracturing the unity that once defined Britain.
Today, the Conservatives, Labour, and now Reform all sing from the same hymn sheet of deceit. They twist the truth, trade in personality cults, and hide behind empty slogans while serving the same elite interests. Their purpose is not reform, but preservation — to keep a small circle powerful and the majority dependent, compliant, and voiceless.
We say enough. It is time to end the cycle of corruption and complacency, and rebuild a nation that serves its people — not its politicians.
We fully intend to change this, and to make these islands truly democratic.
A Better Democracy
Full proportional representation is not the solution. It often leads to fractured parliaments and ineffective governance. However, we believe that a reformed electoral system, inspired by proportional principles, is essential. It must ensure that every citizen feels represented, heard, and empowered, whilst maintaining the ability to govern properly and effectively.
We seek the fullest democracy achievable, short of every adult being involved in every governmental decision, which would of course be impractical.
We intend to have this at all levels of governance, from local, to regional to national; your home, your voice, your involvement is critical to the success of these Islands.
A Plan for Real Change
We recognise that meaningful change cannot happen overnight. That is why we are developing a 25-year plan to reform the way these islands are governed, with the full involvement, cooperation and approval of the population. For too long, the people have been ignored and underrepresented. It is time for that to change.
We believe that the current number of elected representatives has become a gravy train for political careers. With two properly elected legislative houses, and with more offices of power and influence opened to public election, we can govern with far fewer politicians, whilst improving both accountability and effectiveness.
Likewise, there are too many local authorities duplicating effort and wasting public money through inefficiency. There must be a better way that serves the people, and with the help of the people, we will find it.
We are not afraid to make mistakes. We accept that we will, and when we do, we will pick ourselves up and move forward — because that is what the BDA exists to do. We will not get everything right, because perfection is an impossible dream for fantasists, and we are not fantasists. We are realists.
We are undertaking the hard work of correcting decades of neglect, poor management, social division, and mistrust. This cannot be fixed overnight, and it will not happen without the occasional misstep. But we will keep those missteps to a minimum and mitigate them through open admission, public honesty, complete integrity, and immediate, well-considered corrections that are shaped with the support of the public and the communities affected.
At no point will we march blindly onwards or ignore calls to abandon a policy that is not working. We will stop. We will listen. We will talk. That is how a real democracy must work
A Broken System
The last 80 years of governance in the United Kingdom have been marked by repeated scandal, failure and betrayal of public trust. From the Suez Crisis, the Profumo Affair and the Jeremy Thorpe scandal, through Cash for Questions, Cash for Honours and countless other abuses of office, the British people have been consistently short-changed by successive Governments.
Nowhere was this more evident than in the handling of our relationship with the European Union. We were taken into the European project without clear public consent, and decades later, the process of leaving it was mishandled with equal incompetence and contempt for the electorate.
Time and again, Governments have placed their own interests, or those of powerful institutions, above the will and welfare of the people. Today, we have a Government elected by little over 34% of those who voted, and only around 20% of those eligible to vote. This is not democracy by any reasonable definition.
Join the Conversation
We encourage you to read the ideas we have set out so far. We do not claim to have all the answers, and we recognise that some of our ideas and policies may need to be modified for them to be acceptable to the nation – and there in lays the issue – we need your feedback to make our policies truly robust and effective – we do not wish to simply impose our ideas on the people who own these islands—the people, not the politicians.
We welcome constructive feedback and value the free exchange of ideas. While we may not always agree, we believe debate must be conducted with politeness and respect. Disagreement should never descend into insult or derision
© British Democratic Alliance 2025