Beyond Politics has just one simple policy – to hand power over to the people.
They want to bring down the government and replace it with Citizens’ Assemblies. This is in reaction to the total failure of the current system to address the exponentially growing crisis of climate change, the widening gap between rich and poor, the growing numbers of people living in poverty in supposedly “rich” countries, and the lack of real planning and care exposed by the CoVid19 pandemic.
They are an anti-political direct action party, reluctantly entering the current electoral system, in order to replace it.
Their launch yesterday involved more than a dozen activists raiding the large Sainsbury’s store in Camden, North London, which is next to a homeless hostel and in Robin Hood-style ‘reclaiming’ several trolleys full of food and ‘gift-aiding’ it to the locals from a shocking pink trestle table right outside the store.
In the chaos, security staff (who claimed they were not registered with SIA) assaulted some of the activists with one having to attend hospital. Police attended briefly but left, and it took less than half an hour for all the food to be given away. Passers-by were generally positive about the action, and interested to find out more about Citizens’ Assemblies.
North London resident Valerie Brown is likely to be the first electoral candidate, standing as a mayor in the currently postponed London election, but the group plan to field candidates throughout the country as elections take place, and also have ambitious plans to bring down the government rather than wait several years for a national election.
Many involved in the group have worked with Extinction Rebellion, and it includes one of XR’s original co-founders, Roger Hallam, but they are a separate organisation working in new ways to achieve the aim of solving society’s ills through people-led democracy.
Expect some unusual campaign tactics and announcements from this party in the coming weeks.
More info at beyondpoliticsparty.com
