The effect this has on politicians is that they attempt to reach agreement on policy amongst themselves to avoid their decisions being challenged in referendums. It’s a system that encourages measured, cooperative and collaborative thinking amongst politicians and focuses their policy making on what the majority of the electorate actually wants; the opposite of what happens today in Britain – where the wishes of the majority of the demos are overruled, steamrollered or simply ignored by their elected representatives, who think they know best.

In recent years Swiss people have voted, amongst other things, in favor of a ban on face coverings being worn in public and rejected a proposal for electronic IDs for citizens. They’ve also voted in favor of a raft of net zero measures. I do not agree with this last vote: but that’s democracy, and if I was a politician in Switzerland I would now be working to implement those policies despite my disagreement with them. 

Direct democracy is often put forward as the explanation for the fabled political stability of Switzerland, which has some of the highest political satisfaction ratings and participation rates in the world. 

This system could work here in the UK. It would mean that several referendums a year, but the rewards are worth the effort.

Alongside this I propose a vast reduction in the number of MPS: roughly half the number that exists now would suffice. This would mean salaries could be increased, making politicians less reliant on other incomes that can lead to conflicts of interest.

You will be told by those who are heavily invested in the current status quo that this proposal to give more power to you – the demos – could not work here. 

To that my answer is simple: is the system we have working for you?