Jury Team (UK)
Encyclopedia
The Jury Team is a British political campaign established in 2009, that seeks to back Independent
candidates in United Kingdom
domestic and European elections. Although it is a registered UK political party, it is described as an umbrella organisation giving financial and marketing backing to Independent candidates, who are free to set their own political agenda outside of the traditional model of standing as the candidate of a particular party. Jury Team employs a novel selection process for its Independent candidates, allowing any member of the public to apply to be promoted for backing, and leaving final candidate selection to the public, by text message voting. After contesting the European Parliament
elections in June 2009, the Jury Team's first Independent United Kingdom parliamentary
candidate was John Smeaton
, who stood in the 2009 Glasgow North East by-election
.
, a businessman and former director-general of the Conservative Party
. Jury Team was registered with the UK's Electoral Commission's
Register of Political Parties on 13 March 2009, eligible to field candidates in England
, Scotland
and Wales
. Sir Paul is the registered Jury Team Leader and Treasurer
, while Alan Wallace is the Jury Team Nominating Officer.
, that "regular people can make decisions about complex problems with integrity and without any vested interests".
Jury Team is described as an umbrella organization
, with the purpose of giving Independent non-party candidates the platform to compete against the established UK political parties, free of party allegiance and a party whip
. The Jury Team aims to "break the traditional party leaderships' control over the political process". A YouGov
poll commissioned by Jury Team as part of its launch suggested that 55% of electors would vote for an Independent candidate if they thought they had a realistic chance of being elected.
Jury Team has no manifesto
or specific policies
; any member of the public who is considered to be "committed to the principles of good governance, including selflessness, integrity, openness and honesty" may be publicised by the organisation as a potential Jury Team candidate, and candidates are selected by a system of public voting by text message. The Jury Team candidates that stood in the 2009 European elections represented both sides of the political spectrum as well as those representing several single issue platforms.
As well as Jury Team, Jury Team Party and Jury Team Independents, the organisation has also registered the following as official Party Descriptions: Democracy 2.0, Democracy, Accountability, Transparency, Politics for the People, Politics Isn't Working, Politics with Principles and Politics without Parties.
While Jury Team has no party policies, they do declare 12 basic principles on issues of governance and representation, covering areas such as term limits and pay transparency for elected representatives, changes to the operation of select committees and government departments
, independence of statistical reporting and complaints functions, and changes to the rules regarding referendums
and calling of general elections
. They oppose the Alternative vote and say that the planned AV referendum is a "political stitch-up".
Jury Team Independent candidates for the 2009 European Parliament elections
could stand for selection in every British European Parliament constituency region except Northern Ireland
. Candidates individual political positions were promoted through the Jury Team website between 16 March to 24 April 2009, during which time the public could vote for their preferred candidates. The successful candidates in each region were then ranked by the number of text votes cast, in order to produce a 'party list' for each region according to their allocated number of seats. (European Parliament
seats from in England, Scotland and Wales are allocated using a system of proportional representation
using the d'Hondt formula.)
On 25 September 2009 it was announced that John Smeaton
, an airport worker who came to national attention for intervening in the 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack
,
would be the first candidate selected by Jury Team to stand for a seat in the Westminster Parliament
, and would contest the 2009 Glasgow North East by-election
for the vacant seat formerly held by the Speaker of the House Michael Martin
.
candidates in the 2009 European Parliament elections
. While no Jury Team candidate gained a seat in the European Parliament
, the candidates collectively registered 0.5% of the total votes cast in Great Britain, ranking Jury Team candidates as a whole 13th among other parties in Great Britain.
stood as the Jury Team backed Independent
candidate in the 2009 Glasgow North East by-election
, he came eighth out of 13 candidates with 258 votes.
candidates in the 2010 General Election, on 6 May 2010. The group hoped to increase on the number of 5 Independent MPs elected in 2005 out of a total of 646 currently sitting
in the House of Commons. No Jury Team candidates were elected MPs.
and American Idol
. Time magazine called the movement similar to the reality show "American Idol" Jury Team's lack of manifesto has attracted the moniker the "anti-party party". Anthony King
stated of Jury Team that "The idea that a non-party party could get very far is farfetched."
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
candidates in United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
domestic and European elections. Although it is a registered UK political party, it is described as an umbrella organisation giving financial and marketing backing to Independent candidates, who are free to set their own political agenda outside of the traditional model of standing as the candidate of a particular party. Jury Team employs a novel selection process for its Independent candidates, allowing any member of the public to apply to be promoted for backing, and leaving final candidate selection to the public, by text message voting. After contesting the European Parliament
European Parliament election, 2009 (United Kingdom)
The European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2009 European Parliament election, the voting for which was held on Thursday 4 June 2009, coinciding with the 2009 local elections in England. Most of the results of the election were announced on Sunday 7 June, after...
elections in June 2009, the Jury Team's first Independent United Kingdom parliamentary
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
candidate was John Smeaton
John Smeaton (baggage handler)
John Smeaton QGM is a Scottish former baggage handler at Glasgow International Airport. He became involved in thwarting the 2007 Glasgow International Airport Attack. Smeaton lives in Erskine, Renfrewshire, a town outside the city and near the airport. Brought up in Erskine, he was educated at...
, who stood in the 2009 Glasgow North East by-election
Glasgow North East by-election, 2009
The 2009 Glasgow North East by-election was a by-election for the Parliament of the United Kingdom's House of Commons constituency of Glasgow North East. The by-election was held on 12 November 2009 following the resignation of Michael Martin as an MP and as Speaker of the British House of Commons...
.
Foundation
The Jury Team campaign for more Independent politicians was launched on 8 March 2009 by Sir Paul JudgePaul Judge
Sir Paul Judge is a British businessman and politician. He is Chairman of plc, a director of ENRC plc, of the United Kingdom Accreditation Service, of Standard Bank Group Ltd of Johannesburg and of Tempur-Pedic International Inc...
, a businessman and former director-general of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. Jury Team was registered with the UK's Electoral Commission's
Electoral Commission (United Kingdom)
The Electoral Commission is an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. It regulates party and election finance and sets standards for well-run elections...
Register of Political Parties on 13 March 2009, eligible to field candidates in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Sir Paul is the registered Jury Team Leader and Treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
, while Alan Wallace is the Jury Team Nominating Officer.
Politics
The name Jury Team reflects the idea behind the juryJury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
, that "regular people can make decisions about complex problems with integrity and without any vested interests".
Jury Team is described as an umbrella organization
Umbrella organization
An umbrella organization is an association of institutions, who work together formally to coordinate activities or pool resources. In business, political, or other environments, one group, the umbrella organization, provides resources and often an identity to the smaller organizations...
, with the purpose of giving Independent non-party candidates the platform to compete against the established UK political parties, free of party allegiance and a party whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
. The Jury Team aims to "break the traditional party leaderships' control over the political process". A YouGov
YouGov
YouGov, formerly known as PollingPoint in the United States, is an international internet-based market research firm launched in the UK in May 2000 by Stephan Shakespeare, now Chief Executive Officer, and Nadhim Zahawi...
poll commissioned by Jury Team as part of its launch suggested that 55% of electors would vote for an Independent candidate if they thought they had a realistic chance of being elected.
Jury Team has no manifesto
Manifesto
A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...
or specific policies
Policy
A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...
; any member of the public who is considered to be "committed to the principles of good governance, including selflessness, integrity, openness and honesty" may be publicised by the organisation as a potential Jury Team candidate, and candidates are selected by a system of public voting by text message. The Jury Team candidates that stood in the 2009 European elections represented both sides of the political spectrum as well as those representing several single issue platforms.
As well as Jury Team, Jury Team Party and Jury Team Independents, the organisation has also registered the following as official Party Descriptions: Democracy 2.0, Democracy, Accountability, Transparency, Politics for the People, Politics Isn't Working, Politics with Principles and Politics without Parties.
While Jury Team has no party policies, they do declare 12 basic principles on issues of governance and representation, covering areas such as term limits and pay transparency for elected representatives, changes to the operation of select committees and government departments
Departments of the United Kingdom Government
Her Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom contains a number of Cabinet ministers who are usually called secretaries of state when they are in charge of Government departments called ministerial departments...
, independence of statistical reporting and complaints functions, and changes to the rules regarding referendums
Referendums in the United Kingdom
Referendums are only occasionally held by the government of the United Kingdom. Eleven referendums have been held so far , the first in 1973; only two of these covered the whole UK...
and calling of general elections
United Kingdom general elections
This is a list of United Kingdom general elections since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801–1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliament of Ireland, before being co-opted to serve in the first Parliament of the United Kingdom, so that Parliament...
. They oppose the Alternative vote and say that the planned AV referendum is a "political stitch-up".
Candidate selection
According to its founder and leader Sir Paul Judge, Jury Team Independent candidates have "legally committed themselves to our three guiding principles of democracy, accountability and transparency and to abiding by the seven Nolan Principles of Public Life", and "had all "pledged to vote on conscience for the good of their constituents and the country and will not be required to obey a party whip".Jury Team Independent candidates for the 2009 European Parliament elections
European Parliament election, 2009 (United Kingdom)
The European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2009 European Parliament election, the voting for which was held on Thursday 4 June 2009, coinciding with the 2009 local elections in England. Most of the results of the election were announced on Sunday 7 June, after...
could stand for selection in every British European Parliament constituency region except Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. Candidates individual political positions were promoted through the Jury Team website between 16 March to 24 April 2009, during which time the public could vote for their preferred candidates. The successful candidates in each region were then ranked by the number of text votes cast, in order to produce a 'party list' for each region according to their allocated number of seats. (European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
seats from in England, Scotland and Wales are allocated using a system of proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
using the d'Hondt formula.)
On 25 September 2009 it was announced that John Smeaton
John Smeaton (baggage handler)
John Smeaton QGM is a Scottish former baggage handler at Glasgow International Airport. He became involved in thwarting the 2007 Glasgow International Airport Attack. Smeaton lives in Erskine, Renfrewshire, a town outside the city and near the airport. Brought up in Erskine, he was educated at...
, an airport worker who came to national attention for intervening in the 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack
2007 Glasgow International Airport attack
The 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack was a terrorist attack which occurred on Saturday 30 June 2007, at 15:11 BST, when a dark green Jeep Cherokee loaded with propane canisters was driven into the glass doors of the Glasgow International Airport terminal and set ablaze...
,
would be the first candidate selected by Jury Team to stand for a seat in the Westminster Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
, and would contest the 2009 Glasgow North East by-election
Glasgow North East by-election, 2009
The 2009 Glasgow North East by-election was a by-election for the Parliament of the United Kingdom's House of Commons constituency of Glasgow North East. The by-election was held on 12 November 2009 following the resignation of Michael Martin as an MP and as Speaker of the British House of Commons...
for the vacant seat formerly held by the Speaker of the House Michael Martin
Michael Martin (politician)
Michael John Martin, Baron Martin of Springburn, PC is a British politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Glasgow Springburn from 1979 to 2005, and then for Glasgow North East until 2009...
.
European Parliament election 2009
Jury Team backed 59 IndependentIndependent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
candidates in the 2009 European Parliament elections
European Parliament election, 2009 (United Kingdom)
The European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2009 European Parliament election, the voting for which was held on Thursday 4 June 2009, coinciding with the 2009 local elections in England. Most of the results of the election were announced on Sunday 7 June, after...
. While no Jury Team candidate gained a seat in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, the candidates collectively registered 0.5% of the total votes cast in Great Britain, ranking Jury Team candidates as a whole 13th among other parties in Great Britain.
Glasgow North East by-election, 2009
John SmeatonJohn Smeaton (baggage handler)
John Smeaton QGM is a Scottish former baggage handler at Glasgow International Airport. He became involved in thwarting the 2007 Glasgow International Airport Attack. Smeaton lives in Erskine, Renfrewshire, a town outside the city and near the airport. Brought up in Erskine, he was educated at...
stood as the Jury Team backed Independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
candidate in the 2009 Glasgow North East by-election
Glasgow North East by-election, 2009
The 2009 Glasgow North East by-election was a by-election for the Parliament of the United Kingdom's House of Commons constituency of Glasgow North East. The by-election was held on 12 November 2009 following the resignation of Michael Martin as an MP and as Speaker of the British House of Commons...
, he came eighth out of 13 candidates with 258 votes.
2010 General Election
Jury Team fielded IndependentIndependent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
candidates in the 2010 General Election, on 6 May 2010. The group hoped to increase on the number of 5 Independent MPs elected in 2005 out of a total of 646 currently sitting
MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 2005
This is a list of Members of Parliament elected to the House of Commons for the Fifty-Fourth Parliament of the United Kingdom at the 2005 general election, held on 5 May 2005.The list is arranged by constituency...
in the House of Commons. No Jury Team candidates were elected MPs.
Funding
The Jury Team campaign is funded by Sir Paul Judge from his estimated £30m personal wealth, together with three other financial backers. The organisation's financial rules preclude individual donations of more than £50,000, in line with the 2006 Sir Hayden Phillips inquiry.Reception
Jury Team's candidate public vote by text message selection method has been likened to the reality TV shows The X-FactorThe X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
and American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
. Time magazine called the movement similar to the reality show "American Idol" Jury Team's lack of manifesto has attracted the moniker the "anti-party party". Anthony King
Anthony King (professor)
Professor Anthony King is a Canadian-born professor of government in the United Kingdom at Essex University, psephologist and commentator....
stated of Jury Team that "The idea that a non-party party could get very far is farfetched."
See also
- Alliance for DemocracyAlliance for Democracy (UK)The Alliance for Democracy was an electoral coalition of two British political parties, the English Democrats and the Jury Team. The Christian Party, and Veritas were associates....
- List of political parties in the United Kingdom
- List of UK minor party and independent MPs elected
- Non-partisan democracyNon-partisan democracyNonpartisan democracy is a system of representative government or organization such that universal and periodic elections take place without reference to political parties.-Overview:...