Blog

We spend a third of our lives at work. Yet for too long, the workplace has felt like a dictatorship. You are told where to sit, when to arrive, and how to commute, often at great personal cost.

The pandemic taught us something important: We don’t need to work this way.

We learned that people can be productive from home. We learned that the “rush hour” is a choice, not a necessity.

Article 9 of the COMMONS manifesto is about locking in those lessons. It is the “Freedom to Work Act.” It shifts the power balance from the employer to the employee, ensuring that work fits around your life, not the other way around.

The Default Right to Remote Work

Why should you spend thousands of pounds and hundreds of hours a year commuting to an office just to send emails?

Under Article 9, Remote Work is the Legal Default.

• If your job can be done from home, you have the right to do it from home.
• The burden of proof is on the employer. If they want you in the office, they must prove it is strictly necessary for the role. “Company culture” is not a valid excuse.

This isn’t just about comfort; it’s about regional equality. It means you can have a high-paying London job while living in (and spending money in) Cornwall, Wales, or the North. It spreads wealth across the country naturally.

Time Sovereignty

Life is unpredictable. Kids get sick. Boilers break. You shouldn’t have to beg for flexibility.

We are introducing the right to Time Sovereignty.

• You have the right to request a change to your working hours with just 30 Days’ Notice.
• Whether you want to compress your hours into 4 days, start late to drop kids at school, or finish early—if the work gets done, the schedule is yours to shape.

Transport: Public and Free

When you do need to travel, it shouldn’t be a source of stress or extortionate cost.

Privatized rail has failed. It is expensive, fragmented, and unreliable. Article 9 Nationalizes the Railways.

• We are bringing the tracks and the trains back under one unified, public operator.
• The goal is simple: An integrated, affordable network that serves the passenger, not the shareholder.

And for those who drive? We have already abolished Fuel Duty and Vehicle Excise Duty (as part of the Great Abolition in Article 1). The roads are tax-free.

The “Job Guarantee” Prelude

Article 9 sets the rules for how we work. But what if you don’t have a job at all?

This leads us to the most ambitious social policy in our manifesto. We believe that unemployment is a policy choice, and we are choosing to end it.

Next time: We explore how we eliminate unemployment forever with the Civilian Service Corps. We explore Article 10: Work & Welfare Integrity.

Subscribe below to learn about the Job Guarantee.

👇 [SUBSCRIBE BUTTON] 👇

A common scare tactic used against low-tax movements is this: “If you cut taxes, the NHS will collapse.”

At COMMONS, we are proving the opposite.

Because we have moved the funding of the state from Wages to Wealth, we have a deeper, more stable pool of resources to draw from. We aren’t just protecting our public services; we are aggressively upgrading them.

Article 8 is our pledge to the physical and moral health of the nation. It covers the NHS, Social Care, and a radical overhaul of our Justice system.

The NHS: Public, Permanent, and Protected

Let’s be clear: Under COMMONS, the NHS is 100% State-Owned.

We are ending the creeping privatization of our health service. No more outsourcing to private equity firms. No more internal markets where hospitals compete against each other.

• We treat healthcare as a human right, not a business opportunity.
• By removing the “profit motive” from the supply chain, every pound spent goes to patient care, not shareholder dividends.

Solving the Social Care Crisis

For decades, we have had a cruel system where if you get cancer, the NHS pays, but if you get dementia, you are on your own. Thousands of families see their life savings wiped out by care home fees.

Article 8 introduces Free Personal Care for those in residential homes.

We believe that complex frailty is a health condition. It should be treated like one.

• The Guarantee: If you need residential care, the State covers the cost of your personal care.
• The Result: You can pass your hard-earned savings to your children, rather than handing them over to a care provider. We are ending the “Dementia Tax.”

Justice: Fast, Professional, and Fair

Our legal system is collapsing. Victims wait years for a trial. Rape cases are dropped because the backlog is too long. The system is stuck in the 19th Century.

We are modernizing it with a bold, professional approach.

1. The 6-Month Limit: We are introducing a strict statutory limit. From charge to trial, the process must take no longer than 6 months. Justice delayed is justice denied.
2. Professional Judges: We are replacing the random lottery of juries with panels of 5 Professional Judges for serious crimes.
   • Why? Juries are untrained and give no reasons for their decisions.
   • The Upgrade: Professional panels are experts in the law, they are faster, and crucially, they must publish a Written Verdict explaining exactly why they reached their decision. It is transparent, accountable, and rigorous.

Education: Parity of Esteem

Finally, Article 8 resets how we view success. For too long, we have pushed every young person toward University, burdening them with debt and neglecting the skills our economy actually needs.

We are establishing Vocational Parity.

• Training in the Civilian Service Corps (our Job Guarantee scheme) will count towards National Qualifications.
• We are valuing the builder, the coder, and the carer just as highly as the academic.

A Civilized Society

Article 8 is about respect. Respect for your health when you are sick. Respect for your dignity when you are old. Respect for your right to a swift trial if you are a victim of crime.

It is the safety net that allows us to be brave.

Next time: We look at the future of work. How do we ensure everyone has a job, and that work fits around your life, not the other way around? We explore Article 9: The Freedom to Work.

Subscribe below to learn about the Remote Work Right.

👇 [SUBSCRIBE BUTTON] 👇

Do you feel like Westminster listens to you?

For most of us, the answer is “No.” We vote once every five years, and then for the next 1,800 days, we watch helplessly as politicians break promises, dodge questions, and bicker in a crumbling palace.

It feels like an analogue system in a digital world. It is slow, dusty, and disconnected.

Article 7 of the COMMONS manifesto is our plan to reboot British democracy. We are taking the power out of the backrooms and putting it where it belongs: In your hand.

Abolishing the House of Lords

Let’s start with the obvious. In the 21st Century, we still have a legislative chamber filled with unelected aristocrats, bishops, and political donors. It is indefensible.

Under Article 7, we are moving to a Unicameral Parliament.

• We are abolishing the House of Lords.
• We are keeping the House of Commons, but electing it via Single Transferable Vote (STV).

This means every vote counts. No more “safe seats” where the MP can ignore you. No more tactical voting. You rank the candidates you like, and the result actually reflects the will of the people. It creates a parliament that looks like modern Britain, not a private club.

The “App Veto”: Real-Time Accountability

This is the biggest change. We believe you should have a say more than once every five years.

We are introducing the Democracy App.

• The Power to Veto: If Parliament passes a law that the public hates, you don’t have to wait for an election. If a certain threshold of citizens flag it on the App, it triggers a national Veto Vote. You can stop bad laws in their tracks.
• The Power to Recall: Is your MP failing to show up? Is there a scandal? You can trigger a “Recall Petition” instantly via the App. If they lose your trust, they lose their job.

This keeps politicians on their toes every single day. They work for you, and now, you have the remote control.

Getting Money Out of Politics

Why do politicians listen to billionaires more than they listen to you? Because billionaires pay for their campaigns.

Article 7 introduces the strictest Clean Campaign Laws in history.

• The Cap: Private spending on election campaigns is capped at just £5,000.
• The Platform: Instead of buying expensive ads, the State provides free, equal TV airtime and postage for all qualified candidates.

This means you can’t buy an election anymore. You have to win it with arguments. It levels the playing field so that a nurse or a teacher has just as much chance of becoming an MP as a millionaire.

Restoring Trust

We know that trust in politics is at an all-time low. The only way to fix it is to open the doors and let the daylight in.

Article 7 builds a system that is transparent, responsive, and clean. It ensures that the Government fears the People, not the other way around.

Next time: We look at the heart of our society. How do we protect the NHS and fix the care crisis? We explore Article 8: Society & Infrastructure.

Subscribe below to see our plan for the NHS.

👇 [SUBSCRIBE BUTTON] 👇

Immigration is often the most heated debate in British politics. It usually breaks down into two angry sides: those who want to close the borders completely, and those who want no controls at all.

At COMMONS, we believe both sides are missing the point.

The question isn’t “Do we like immigrants?” (Of course we do—they are our doctors, neighbors, and friends). The question is: “Do we have the infrastructure to support a growing population?”

Article 6 is our answer. It is a policy based on math, not emotion. It is designed to ensure that everyone who lives here—whether you arrived yesterday or were born here 50 years ago—has a decent home, a doctor, and a high quality of life.

The Golden Rule: Homes First, Migration Second

For years, governments have allowed net migration to soar while failing to build enough houses. The result? Sky-high rents, overcrowded cities, and a generation locked out of homeownership.

Article 6 introduces the Infrastructure Lock.

• The Cap: Annual Net Migration is legally capped at 100% of New Housing Completions from the previous year.
• The Logic: If we build 300,000 new homes, we can welcome 300,000 new people. If we only build 100,000 homes, the border tightens automatically.

This aligns the incentives perfectly. If businesses want more workers, they must lobby the government to build more homes. It ensures that migration never lowers the quality of life for the people already here. It stops the overcrowding crisis at the source.

The “Membership Fee”: Instant Contribution

In the old system, people worried that newcomers might strain public services before they had contributed enough in taxes.

Under the COMMONS Asset State, we solve this with the New Resident Membership Fee.

Because we have abolished Income Tax, the UK becomes the most attractive place in the world to work. To ensure fairness, new residents (who haven’t spent years building up the country’s infrastructure) pay a slightly different rate:

• They pay the 2% Wealth Tax on their global assets from Day 1, with no tax-free allowance.

This acts as an immediate “buy-in” to the club. It ensures that every single person arriving in the UK is a net contributor to the public purse from the moment they step off the plane. It kills the “freeloader” myth dead.

The Fair Access Ballot

We are also fixing the visa system for businesses. Currently, big corporations use expensive lawyers to game the system, while small businesses struggle to hire the talent they need.

We are replacing the red tape with a transparent Visa Lottery.

• Companies pay a fixed ticket price to enter the ballot for skilled worker visas.
• It levels the playing field. A startup has the same chance of hiring a genius engineer as a global giant.

A Warm but Managed Welcome

Article 6 is about confidence.

When you know that every new arrival has a house waiting for them (because of the Cap) and is paying their way immediately (because of the Membership Fee), fear evaporates.

We can return to being a confident, welcoming nation—one that attracts the best and brightest from around the world, without breaking the systems that support us all.

Next time: We look at how we fix the broken trust in Westminster. How do we make politicians listen? We explore Article 7: Democracy & Integrity.

Subscribe below to see how we clean up politics.

👇 [SUBSCRIBE BUTTON] 👇

We all remember 2008. We remember the queues outside Northern Rock, the panic on the news, and the government spending billions of your tax money to bail out banks that had gambled and lost.

It shattered trust. It made us realize a scary truth: when you put £1,000 in a bank, it isn’t really there. It’s being lent out, leveraged, and gambled with.

At COMMONS, we believe your money should be yours. It should be rock solid. It should be safe.

Article 5 is our plan to fix banking forever. We are introducing the Hybrid Bank and the Digital Pound.

The Vault and The App

In the old system, private banks did two things: they looked after your savings, and they made risky loans. When the loans went bad, your savings were at risk.

We are splitting those jobs up.

Under Article 5, all money is legally held on the ledger of the Bank of England.

• The Vault: Your money sits in the safest vault in the world—the Central Bank. It is backed by the State. It cannot be lost. A private bank could go bust tomorrow, and your balance wouldn’t change by a penny.
• The App: Private banks (like Monzo, Barclays, or HSBC) become technology companies. They provide the beautiful app you use to spend, track, and manage your money. They compete on service, not on risk.

You get the best of both worlds: the innovation of the private sector, with the absolute safety of the State.

Ending the Casino

So how do banks lend money for mortgages or businesses if they can’t touch your deposits?

They have to buy it.

We are introducing the Auction System. If a bank wants to lend, they must bid for funds from the Bank of England or attract “Investment Savings” from you (where you choose to take a risk for a higher interest rate).

They can no longer create money out of thin air. This kills inflation at the source. It stops housing bubbles before they start. It means the economy grows on real savings, not debt-fuelled fantasies.

The “Lending Floor” Guarantee

We know what you might be thinking: “If banks are restricted, will they stop lending? Will I be able to get a mortgage?”

This is where the COMMONS system is smarter than the old way. We have built in a Sovereign Backstop.

If private banks ever get too scared to lend (like in a credit crunch), the State Investment Bank automatically steps in. We have a “Lending Floor.”

If the private sector won’t lend to a viable small business or a homebuyer with a good record, the State will. This ensures the economy never freezes up. The money tap stays open for those who need it.

A Foundation of Trust

Article 5 is about removing the anxiety from money.

• No more bank runs.
• No more taxpayer bailouts.
• No more inflation eating your savings.

It is a banking system designed for the people who use it, not the bankers who run it. It builds a floor of stability under the entire economy, allowing us to build the Asset State with confidence.

Next time: We tackle one of the most debated topics in the country. How do we manage borders fairly in a world of wealth? We explore Article 6: Immigration & Citizenship.

Subscribe below to see the new social contract.

👇 [SUBSCRIBE BUTTON] 👇