[pp.int.general] Party of the Week: Pirate Party UK

[PPI Info]

Hello Pirates!

Today the Pirate Parties International starts a new series on its website
called "Party of the Week". Each week we will present one Pirate Party from
one country, ask questions, publish the answers, promote their website,
twitter accounts etc.

The series starts with the Pirate Party UK <http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/>(
Twitter <http://twitter.com/PiratePartyUK>), which on May 6th will
participate for the first time in national elections.

You can find the questions and answers on the PPI website (
http://www.pp-international.net/node/472) or at the bottom of this message.
We encourage you to promote the link to the QaA, link to the website and
Twitter account of the Party of the Week and publish the questions/answers
on your website/blog, on your Facebook page or print it out and show it to
your friends. Each week a new Party will answer to the questions and give
you the opportunity to get to know more about their aims, their message,
inner structure, or simply if and where you can join or donate.

Get to know Pirate Parties from all over the world!

===
Tell us why the Pirate Party of the United Kingdom is participating in the
current elections?

Recent events have shown UK politics has changed, and in doing so has become
a disgrace.

Politicians have been abusing their expenses system, all the while being
lobbied by special interest groups with near-unlimited funding, culminating
in pushing through poorly consulted legislation such as the Digital Economy
Act (DEA). All this, combined with MPs generally ignoring their constituents
- except for a few weeks once every 5 years - has led to a widespread
feeling of disenfranchisement among the electorate.

PPUK aims to modernise our copyright and patent laws (regarded as some of
the worst in the world), uphold personal privacy and government
transparency, and campaign for freedom of speech, communication and
information - all the while listening to our constituents. The passing of
the DEA is proof that lobbying is simply not enough and PPUK provide a
tangible way for the electorate to tell the major parties exactly what is
important to them.
 What is the message?

To us, Pirate politics is fundamentally a civil rights question about
liberties which were hard-won in past ages and - shamefully - need to be
defended again in a Digital Age. Copyright is simply one facet of this - the
attempt to enforce 19th Century concepts of copyright and "intellectual
property", by 20th Century business interests in the 21st Century result in
a direct clash with people's freedoms to communicate and share information.

The Digital Age has enabled every citizen to distribute data at the touch of
a button, and connect directly with any other citizen, both in Europe and
worldwide - for little to no additional cost. We live in an age of change,
with methods of distributing intangible goods and services from our own
rooms, at a fraction of the cost than was previously possible.

We believe in the transparency of government, the protection of individual
privacy, and our freedom of expression and freedom to spread, use, and
develop human knowledge and culture. We support these aims because we
believe that they will lead to an even greater future - for the collective
good, and the enrichment of our now worldwide culture.

The possibilities offered by new technology allow this on a truly
unprecedented scale, and need to be embraced rather than feared.
 Tell us more about the inner structure of PPUK

PPUK is managed by a National Executive Committee (NEC) consisting of five
officers elected by the members - including the Party Leader - and are
responsible for running the Party and the necessary related legal
responsibilities. Some members of the NEC have appointed deputies to help
with their duties.

The Party's policies have been developed by three Policy Working Groups -
taking each of the core policy areas - and the work of these groups was
refined and improved upon to form a draft manifesto. The manifesto was then
voted on, and ratified, by the members - something rarely seen in other
political parties.

Press releases and media requests are handled by the Press Office which is
manned by a group of volunteers. Releases are written, proofed and edited by
several members of the Press Team concurrently using browser-based software,
until an agreement is reached on all aspects. Finally, the Party's web
presence is managed by the Web Team, which includes running the website,
forums and various social media accounts, such as YouTube, Twitter and the
assorted Facebook pages.
 If you think 5 years ahead, what will be different compared to today's
situation?

Within the next 5 years there will be another national election. In this
election, the Pirate Party will contest a much wider range of seats than we
are this year. There will also be a European Election in 2014 - an election
the Party agrees will be the first it truly fights. The election this year
is very much a learning experience, and we will certainly learn from any
mistakes. We will also field as many candidates as possible in local and
regional elections (Scotland, Wales, and London), while opposing legislation
against Pirate doctrine, all the while working with our namesakes in other
countries through the Pirate Parties International.
 Where can I donate?

Only those registered to vote in the UK are allowed to donate to political
parties, as such, no foreign individuals or organisations can donate to
PPUK. For those eligible, there is a donation button on the front-page, and
you may also donate while purchasing items from the Pirate shop.
 Can foreigners become members of PPUK?

Currently it is not possible for foreigners to be party members. This does
not however mean they cannot be members of our community, and you are most
certainly welcome to spend time on our forum and in our IRC channel (#ppuk
on PirateNet).

---

   - Pirate Party UK Website: http://www.pirateparty.org.uk
   - Pirate Party UK on Twitter:
PiratePartyUK<http://twitter.com/PiratePartyUK>
   - Pirate Party UK on Facebook:
   http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=102577189324
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