allow anything or anyone to disrupt their hold on what is unfettered power. It is the responsibility of us who know that "there is a better way" to spread our message, to start that movement about which Richard North wrote. It is up to us to start that small snowball down the hill so that with its increasing momentum it mutates into an avalanche which overwhelms the present political class. To those that believe the required change can happen 'overnight' I have one simple message: it won't, it will take time -- maybe a decade or two. What is certain is that no thinking parent would wish to bequeath to their children and grandchildren the current mess that this country is in where our systems of democracy and politics are concerned. But he doesn't say that "only politicians have the right to formulate ideas". I put a less unfavourable interpretation on his words: parties will absorb good ideas and bring them to the attention of voters for consideration. The competition is then about the relative votes received by these parties. Carswell is one of very few "good" MPs, not just a mouthpiece for the party line, so I think your interpretation is slightly harsh. This may come down to theory versus pragmatism , or how a philosophy works in practice . A good reason for taking any new idea , or variations of previous ideas , and exploring , dissecting , adapting and making them the nearest answer to a