Our Policy Think Tank
At Essex Independence we do not have a Manifesto or a Whip like other Political Parties. We see this as being fundamentally important to ensuring that an elected Councillor or MP can act in the best interests of their Constituents.
Instead we operate a Think Tank, which is hosted in branch meetings and here on our website. Anonymised minutes from branch discussions are posted here, allowing members of our online community to continue the discussion online. Members can learn from this discussion when writing their policy proposals, so that policies benefit from the cumulative wisdom of all of us. The finished policies will be listed on our website. Find out more about how it works.
Members of Essex Independence are not bound to support these policies. It is for candidates and elected representatives to discuss problems with residents and determine whether and what policy changes are necessary. Our ThinkTank simply provides a database of good ideas developed with residents to help them address their problems. The independence of elected representatives is protected through covenants in our constitution, such that they may always put the interests of their constituents first.
Our latest discussions are shown below.
How it works
The process works as follows:
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Problems submission - Any Essex resident may submit a problem for discussion. To do so simply sign up to our website, and post your submission in the members section of our site.
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Branch allocation - Submissions are then allocated to the most relevant branch.
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First reading - The latest submissions are read out at branch meetings each month, where members will have an opportunity to share their initial thoughts, and schedule some for debate. The anonymised minutes of the discussion will be posted here.
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Second reading debate - The debate is then scheduled and added to the branch meeting agenda, to give members time to do their own research and prepare for the debate. At the meeting the submission will be read for a second time and debated. Soundings will be held as appropriate to test opinion in the room, which will consist simply of a show of hands for a particular idea under discussion. The anonymised minutes of the discussion, including the results of any soundings will be posted here.
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Third reading proposal - Following the second reading, members will be able to submit policy proposals to the relevant branch, which will be scheduled and added to the branch meeting agenda. The submission will be read for a third time, followed by the proposal. Members will then discuss the merits and shortcomings of the proposal, and a full vote will be held, recording those for, against and abstentions. The anonymised minutes of the discussion, including the result of the vote will be posted here.
Each branch will have a ThinkTank representative and deputy responsible for implement this process and posting the minutes here. The process will likely evolve over the coming years as we learn from experience and develop additional functionality on our website, but the principle of empowering residents will never change.