ISPO: Simultaneous Policy Campaign

John Bunzl
Founder & Director, International Simultaneous Policy Organisation (ISPO)

Getting politicians from opposing parties and different countries to co-operate meaningfully to solve problems like global warming has long been the desire of world citizens of all political persuasions. Now, the Simultaneous Policy (SP) campaign at last appears to be making that happen. Aimed at addressing problems such as climate change, unfair trade, global injustice and unsustainability, support for SP has again taken a further step forward with Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, UK, Don Foster, being the latest MP to declare his support.

Foster added his name to fourteen other UK MPs from all the main parties who have signed a pledge to implement SP simultaneously alongside other governments. Simultaneous implementation removes the key fear that routinely prevents progress on solving many global problems: that governments fear their nation will become uncompetitive, losing investment and jobs, if they try to take unilateral action. Prime Minister, Tony Blair, himself expressed this fear (in The Guardian, 3.11.05) saying, “The blunt truth about the politics of climate change is that no country will want to sacrifice its economy in order to meet this challenge”. But implementing policies simultaneously removes this fear, so helping to build both international cross-party support for SP and opening the way to far more robust measures being adopted than those presently envisaged under weak international agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol.

But that is not all. While some MPs may support SP on its merits, there is an important electoral incentive. Citizens around the world who support SP – known as “SP Adopters” - undertake to vote at all future elections for any candidate, within reason, who has signed the pledge to implement SP alongside other governments, or to encourage their preferred party to support SP. Adopting SP is free and allows citizens to place politicians who fail to sign up to SP at risk of losing their seats to those who do. In some constituencies at the last UK general election, citizen voting pressure of this kind caused various competing candidates to sign the SP Pledge, virtually ensuring SP gained support in Parliament regardless of who won the seat. With little to distinguish one party from another, and with politicians manifestly failing to take substantive action on these urgent issues, citizens in all democratic countries are seeing SP as a way to seize the initiative and to drive even uncooperative politicians and governments, such as the Bush administration, towards the internationally co-operative solution that SP provides.

SP has also gained support in the Australian and European parliaments and is supported by East Timor’s Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner, José Ramos-Horta. The campaign is coordinated by the International Simultaneous Policy Organisation (ISPO) and has Adopters in many countries who are in the process of forming national and local campaign groups.

For further information visit www.simpol.org (global site) and/or www.simpol.org.uk (UK site) or contact Mike Brady on 07986 736179.

To adopt SP, please click here.

Simpol-UK 27 London Road, Bromley, BR1 1DF, UK
info@simpol.org.uk
Tel +44 (0)20-8464 4141
Fax +44 (0)20-8460 2035