Campaign for Direct Democracy I&R~GB
 

There is a growing body of opinion that INdirect, representative government is not fully up to the task of running ALL our public affairs ALL of the time.

On some important issues, the electorate wishes to propose policy (by citizens' initiative*) and if necessary to decide directly in referendum**.

To guide selected items of government policy and law, in between elections, the electorate should be able to exercise veto (via referendum).

Opinion survey data on our system of governance and many, many comments of "ordinary" people support these assertions.

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*Citizens' Initiative
With the "initiative" a citizen or group has the right to put forward a proposal to introduce or change law. In order that a proposal will be put to the electorate (in a "referendum" or "ballot") an agreed number of endorsements ("signatures") must be collected and validated.

**Referendum
If the required number of endorsements is obtained, there are two ways to proceed:
1) The proposal is put to the electorate in a referendum.
2) The proposal is first presented to parliament or local council, which must debate it. Parliament or council may adopt the proposal and pass it as law. Proposals which are rejected must be put to the electorate in a referendum. If a majority of the electorate votes for the proposal then it becomes law.