take control to protect ourselves from our rulers ... not in an attempt to replace them." Whether the 'group of people' comprise the political class or a minority group of 'opinion formers' who can use the present political system to achieve their aims against the will of the majority, the secret of any democracy is the ability of the majority to decide matters for themselves. With this in mind I can but urge readers who have not yet done so to read the long piece linked to above (and follow the links  within) -- then to proceed to the ' Six Demands ' which form the basis whereby people can decide matters for themselves. Steph, Pershore, wrote that democracy means the people get the government they deserve, which is so very true -- and while the electorate can be castigated for exhibiting apathy, if truth were known said apathy is not entirely their fault. For decades the electorate have been brainwashed/socially engineered/nudged (call the process what you like) into believing that representative democracy is the only system available and that FPTP or AV are the only two methods of holding an election. One only has to consider the fairly recent referendum on a choice of FPTP or AV to see this brainwashing/nudge in operation. Should not the political class have enlightened the electorate about AV+, STV and all the other alternatives? That they did not do so is easily explained when it is realized that the political class will not