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Your Big Ideas; Ban Men From Power. Pay Women to Have a Third Child. Abolish Home Ownership. Over the Past Few Months, The Big Idea Has Seen Some Radical and Exciting Suggestions to Change the World for the Better. Now It's Your Turn. To Mark the End of t

Posted on: Tuesday, 9 November 2004, 09:00 CST

Abolish political parties Churchill declared that politics had become confused and tarnished by its association with party politics. Politics embraces philosophy and discourse as a means of organising human life; party politics embraces private interest and divisive tactics as a means of gaining power. To save politics and thus society, we must rid ourselves of political parties. Parties do not educate the public, they misinform; parties do not mobilise voters, they breed apathy; parties do not facilitate discussion, they enforce uniformity; parties do not represent, they disregard. What use are they?

The electorate is sovereign, yet our representatives in parliament do not vote by conscience or by their constituency's preferences. They are whipped to vote how their leader wants. This is not democracy.

It is ridiculous to argue that parties receive a mandate to govern via their manifesto. Throughout a parliamentary term, on average only 10% of government initiatives are in the manifesto. Secondly, hardly anybody reads a manifesto and therefore cannot give consent to it. Independent MPs would be more responsive and honest, with the possibility of patronage reduced. The public good has been forgotten because politicians have become more fond of victory than of truth.

Gordon Conochie, 25, Perth Give football and rugby the boot With years of heartbreak at Murrayfield and Hampden, low national esteem and our status as a laughing stock in both hemispheres, our national obsession with football, and to a lesser extent rugby, has left Scotland in a pit of despair.

The big idea? Let's stop promoting rugger and soccer and start concentrating on indigenous Scottish sports: golf, shinty and curling, as well as athletics and boxing. Playing a sport like shinty would give young people a greater sense of Scottishness, just as the primacy of Gaelic games in Ireland is seen as an important part of their national identity.

Eoghann Stewart, Inverness Pedestrianise all city centres If there is one thing we need to change if we are to make our world a better place, it is our attitude to the car. In particular, our society is going to have to realise that the car and the centres of cities are simply incompatible.

The congestion charge in London is a step in the right direction, but I would suggest we should go further and ban cars from city centres altogether.

Imagine it: all the main streets of Glasgow or Edinburgh paved over or planted with trees. The noise levels would reduce, our stress levels would reduce and our car use would reduce.

Anyone needing to get into the centre would use a taxi or car to get to the edge of the pedestrianised zone and then walk. We might even end up tackling Scotland's obesity problem, too.

Alan McNaught, Glasgow End the compensation culture Is compensation really to compensate victims? Or to make the rest of us feel we have made everything OK? Aren't there some things for which money just can't compensate - some experiences so awful that the suggestion that cash will help make it all better is simply insulting?

Sexual abuse in childhood is a case in point. Do survivors of abuse really want or need financial compensation?What would anyone do with the money received in such circumstances? Could there be any pleasure in spending it?

So what do victims really want? Usually an acknowledgement of what happened, their day in court, the perpetrator brought to book, support, counselling, friendship, someone who will listen and understand - the answers are as many as the number of sufferers. I expect most just want the hurt to go away. Will money heal the pain? I doubt it.

Eileen McBride, Glasgow Scot Idol: let fans choose the new Scotland manager They surveyed the world, scrutinised records, checked references and they came up with Berti. If the best methods fail, try the worst. The answer to the conundrum of who should manage Scotland is Scot Idol. Candidates would have to undergo a series of challenges to prove themselves a real Scot.

First up would be downing a pint of Super for breakfast at an eastern European airport, while simultaneously conversing with the BBC's Alison Walker. Any spraying of Super and eviction awaits.

Since we are known athletes, contenders in round two would have to swim 25 laps of the city centre fountain with their kilts still on. The penultimate task shows who's been eating their porridge as contenders would have to tear down a set of goals. Lastly, we all sing "And I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more", but who really means it?

Football is the national game; let the nation decide.

Daniel Pilate, Perth Crack down on bad drivers I would remove the driving licences of all people who constantly and consciously break the basic rules of the road. They are the people who have a blank and pathetically innocent expression on their faces when you beep your horn or gesticulate to them.

The prime offenders are people turning right at roundabouts from the left-hand lane while you sit in a lengthy queue. People who don't give way to the right. People who wonder what those two opposing arrows are on their dashboard. People who get in lane at the last minute or ridiculously early. Everyone but me, really.

Colin Smith, Aberdeenshire Make primary school pupils learn a foreign language Anyone who has ever seen the British abroad will surely know where I am coming from on this one. The English language is increasingly dominating the continent and the world, which has increasingly divorced us from the importance of learning other languages. Not only would it stretch our brains into new areas, it would also link us with France, Germany and other European allies. If there ever was a year to recognise the importance of these links, it is this one.

We could require all primary schools to teach at least one foreign language so that by the age of 11 or 12, every pupil in Scotland would know how to speak to their neighbours. Just think what a different Europe we could have in 20 years.

Elizabeth Harper, Edinburgh Ban the sale of animals in pet shops Instead of selling animals, pet shops could be used as information centres for the re-homing of animals. They could keep files on abandoned or unwanted rabbits, cats and dogs available for re- homing from shelters in the local area.

Many re-homing organisations informally interview prospective re- homers and some carry out home checks to ensure there is sufficient space for the animal. Pet shops do not do this.

Shelters also provide a species-specific environment for the animals they home, whereas pet shops have a uniform environment for all. This can be inappropriate. For example, the baby hamsters in one cage will need a warm environment, but too much heat would cause the rabbits in the adjoining cage to shed prematurely their winter coat.

This system would prevent impulse buying by customers and pet shop owners compromising animal welfare for profit, as well as increasing the awareness of re-homing as an option and therefore helping to re-home scores of animals in shelters. It may also reduce the demand for "farmed animals" that are bred in cramped conditions.

Perhaps as an incentive, the shop could earn a small amount of commission from charities who work with them after successful re- homings.

Susan Bell, Kirkintilloch Ban tipping in bars and restaurants Forget smoking; there is another menace far more worthy of banning in Scotland's bars and restaurants: the service charge.

First of all, the whole idea of tipping creates that moment of confusion at the end of every meal: do we tip? If so, how much? Is that too much?

However, there is a more important reason to ban tipping. While a student, I have worked in the service industry for three years, mainly behind the bar, and I know that the pay and conditions for staff in hotels and cafes are appalling. The problem is that tipping is a veil used to hide this problem.

Remove the idea that waiters will get a bonus on top of their pay and you expose the pay for what it is: bad. If we pay well those who serve us well, we are much more likely to have a happy, joyful experience. Eating out would be cheaper, too.

Martin Craymer, Glasgow

Source: Herald, The; Glasgow (UK)

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