AFTER spending the last few weeks giving over page after page to the manifesto pledges, promises, and opinions of our politicians we would like to propose some changes of our own that we think would make our democratic process even better.

There should be a set number of live debates broadcast during the election campaign which all of the main party leaders must attend. A person who wants your vote should feel confident and capable enough to face questions from the public. What have they got to hide?

Cap donations at £1,000 and fund parties via taxes. Voters are being turned away from politics partly because of the bribery by billionaires and trade unions to influence policies in their favour. State funding, with small private donations, would help clean things up. 

Lower the voting age to 16. Allowing people to vote while they are still at school gives them an ideal environment in which to be walked through the process of voting. Politics and and understanding of our democratic process should be an integral part of the curriculum. This would help set up a legacy and stop young people drifting away from politics in their late teens and early twenties. A person who has voted once is far more likely to vote again in subsequent elections.

Abandon first past the post for a proportional system to make everyone’s vote count. Many constituencies in this year’s election have been hotly contested, but PR would give everyone – even those is supposed stronghold seats – a greater feeling of engagement in a system where everything was up for grabs.

Finally, but perhaps most important of all, voting should be mandatory. Our ancestors fought and sometimes died to gain the right to vote and we owe them for their sacrifice.