Global justice campaigners call for voters to turn out in the European Parliament elections

Press release 3 June 2009

Supporters of the Simultaneous Policy (Simpol) campaign for global justice are calling for people to use their votes in the forthcoming European Parliament election (4 June 2009) to help to solve the pressing problems the world is facing. The campaign is not aligned to any party and seeks support from all candidates. Lead candidates for parties in several constituencies, as well as other candidates, have already pledged support for the campaign.

Simpol brings people together around the world to propose, develop and approve the policies they wish to see introduced to address global problems. In the last annual vote, the top problems were identified as: climate change, the power of transnational corporations, environment, international financial markets and other financial issues (fuller list below). Simpol campaign supporters, known as Simpol Adopters, give a preference to candidates who pledge to implement the Simultaneous Policy alongside other governments or, if they have a party preference, to encourage their prefered party to make this pledge. Simultaneous implementation is intended to remove the fear politicians have that their national economy will suffer if they act unilaterally. It is not intended as an alternative to other ways of working for change, but as a parallel strategy to overcome the obstacle of competition between nations.

Voters in most constituencies already have the choice of a candidate (many of them lead candidates on party lists) who has signed the Simpol pledge, and the pressure is on for other candidates to make the same pledge.

Barnaby Flynn, National Enabler for Simpol-UK, said:

"The Simpol campaign is a way for people to reclaim democracy. Our leaders are currently failing to deal with global problems such as climate change. Anyone can sign up as a Simpol Adopter free of charge and shape the policies they want to see implemented. With Simpol the European elections are critically important: the more MEPs elected who have pledged to introduce these policies, the sooner they will become reality. Voters in many regions are fortunate to already have candidates who have signed the Simpol pledge.”

For an updated list of candidates who are backing the Simpol campaign, see
 http://simpoleuroelection2009.blogspot.com

Politicians from all parts of the political spectrum in the UK Parliament have signed the Simpol pledge and there is growing support in other countries. MPs are listed on the Simpol-UK website:  http://www.simpol.org.uk/

When the Simultaneous Policy was first proposed in John Bunzl's book with that title, veteran campaigner and author Noam Chomsky commented: "It's ambitious and provocative. Can it work? Certainly worth a serious try."

For further information contact Mike Brady on 07986 736179.

Notes:

The campaign is coordinated by the International Simultaneous Policy Organisation (ISPO) - see  http://www.simpol.org/. Simpol-UK is a not-for profit company formed in 2004 – see  http://www.simpol.org.uk/

Simpol's starting point is that we live in pseudo-democracies because governments are limited in the action they can take as they fear disinvestment and loss of jobs if they introduce policies which are distasteful to transnational corporations and financial markets. Human rights and the environment take second place to what is best for 'the economy' and voters become increasingly apathetic, it is argued. Simpol puts 'we, the people' in charge of deciding the global rules which shape our world and the campaign strategy compels politicians to implement that package of policies when all, or sufficient, other governments have also pledged to do so. Simultaneous implementation removes the threat of disinvestment.

Any Adopter can put forward a proposal after gathering the required number of seconders. The top policies in the last annual vote are given in the policy zone of www.simpol.org.uk. Policy titles are

Contraction and Convergence (for addressing climate change): 78%

World Transnational Corporation Regulatory Authority: 69%

Beyond GDP: 64%

International Clearing Union: 63%

The Oil Depletion Protocol: 63%

A Defensive Defence Policy: 61%

Nuclear Disarmament: 60%

The Tobin Tax: 57%

Remodelling Companies to Become Stakeholder-Governed Organisations: 53%

Adopters were also asked to vote on issues, giving the top tem as:

1. Climate change
2. The power of transnational corporations
3. Environment
4. International financial markets and other
financial issues
5. Governance (global and national)
6. The system of international trade
7. Human Rights
8. Understanding between peoples
9. Disarmament
10. Conflict resolution