The International Simultaneous Policy Organisation (ISPO) is a voluntary organization that promotes the Simultaneous Policy (Simpol) campaign. It was founded by British businessman, John Bunzl, in 2000.About Simpol-UK
uk.simpol.org - About Simpol-UK
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Description

The ISPO describes itself as "a growing association of

citizens Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality; ...

world-wide who aim to use their votes in a new, co-ordinated and effective way to drive all

nations A nation is a type of social organization where a collective identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, territory, or societ ...

to co-operate in solving our planetary crisis". It believes that transnational citizen action is vital because "

global markets International finance (also referred to as international monetary economics or international macroeconomics) is the branch of monetary and macroeconomic interrelations between two or more countries. International finance examines the dynamics o ...

and

multinational corporation A multinational corporation (MNC; also called a multinational enterprise (MNE), transnational enterprise (TNE), transnational corporation (TNC), international corporation, or stateless corporation, is a corporate organization that owns and cont ...

s so comprehensively overpower individual nations that no politician dares make the first move to solve global problems for fear of competitive disadvantage".ISPO: From Globalization to Sustainability - A New Global Policy for Social Justice
/ref> ISPO aims to overcomes this paralysis by bringing all nations to adopt in principle - and then to simultaneously implement - the Simultaneous Policy (Simpol), a range of democratically formulated regulations to bring about economic justice, environmental security and peace around the world.TED.com - TEDxBerlin - Crossing Borders (2012)
/ref> By supporting Simpol, ISPO's citizen-members pledge to vote in future elections for ANY political party or candidate - within reason - that has signed a pledge to implement Simpol's range of measures only when all or sufficient other governments have also signed. ISPO argues that, as more and more citizens act in this way, politicians will have no choice but to sign the Pledge if they wish to remain in office, or else they risk losing their seats to other politicians who have adopted it. One of its slogans is "Use Your Vote to Take Back the World!"Simpol.org - Campaign concept
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What is ''Simultaneous Policy''?

Simultaneous policy requires governments in all jurisdictions at once, worldwide, to implement a policy shift at once, so that none is disadvantaged or unfairly advantaged. The idea of the need for simultaneity of sovereign state action is not itself a new idea - it is the basis of

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

and

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

initiatives that nothing can be done on certain problems, such as

disarmament Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing Weapon, weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, ...

, until all major players agree to a common timetable of implementing solutions. However, according to the process offered by ISPO, what appears to be new is that citizens who "adopt" the Simultaneous Policy (Simpol) take the formulation of global policy into their own hands. Furthermore, according to ISPO, their adoption of Simpol represents their pledge to vote in future elections, not for a ''particular'' politician or political party, but for ANY politician or party - within reason - that pledges to implement Simpol's package of policies alongside other governments. With more and more parliamentary seats and even entire elections increasingly being won or lost on very small margins, a relatively small number of Simpol adopters have the opportunity, ISPO claims, to make it in the strong interests of all politicians and parties to pledge to implement Simpol's policy package while also making it potentially disastrous for them if they fail to do so. As such, ISPO claims that civil society, through its adoption of Simpol, can for the first time lead governments, rather than governments leading the people. The

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...

and GlobalGreens both recommend certain simultaneous policy initiatives, and closer coordination of their members in many nations. Such cooperation is seen as a way to work within a competitive global market economy without disadvantaging the most 'progressive' players who strongly protect ecology and the worker. Simultaneous initiatives are seen as a way to avoid

Prisoner's dilemma The prisoner's dilemma is a game theory thought experiment involving two rational agents, each of whom can either cooperate for mutual benefit or betray their partner ("defect") for individual gain. The dilemma arises from the fact that while def ...

type problems, wherein there is a strong reward for defecting, and a risk for going along with a proposed plan if there is even one defector. Another example problem of this nature is

agricultural subsidies An agricultural subsidy (also called an agricultural incentive) is a government incentive paid to agribusinesses, agricultural organizations and farms to supplement their income, manage the supply of agricultural products, and influence the ...

to domestic farmers. A nation abolishing such subsidies stands to lose much of its

family farm A family farm is generally understood to be a farm owned and/or operated by a family. It is sometimes considered to be an Estate (land), estate passed down by inheritance. Although a recurring conceptual model, conceptual and archetype, archet ...

infrastructure to cheap imports unless a simultaneous initiative in another country, or in

tax, tariff and trade A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax com ...

to make up for lost subsidies, takes place. As this example suggests, the policies that are put in place simultaneously may be more complex than initially realized, and may require the cooperation of multiple branches or levels of government within one country, in addition to global cooperation.

Diversity of Support

Individuals and politicians who have adopted ISPO's simultaneous policy have come from all parts of the political spectrum. "SP provides a global regulatory and governance framework within which global free markets can operate freely, fairly, and within sustainable environmental limits." John Bunzl.guardian.co.uk
Synchronised thinking , Comment is free , guardian.co.uk
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Scope

The Simultaneous Policy presently has campaigns running in twenty seven countries:Simpol.org - Contacting Simpol in your country
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Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, East Africa region,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

As the

was first to campaign it has more politicians who have signed the pledge. These politicians come from across the

political spectrum A political spectrum is a system to characterize and classify different Politics, political positions in relation to one another. These positions sit upon one or more Geometry, geometric Coordinate axis, axes that represent independent political ...

: * Conservative Party:

Philip Hollobone Philip Thomas Hollobone (born 7 November 1964) is a former British Conservative Party politician and former investment banker. He was the Member of Parliament for Kettering from the 2005 general election to the 2024 general election. Early li ...

MP (2006),

John Penrose John David Penrose (born 22 June 1964) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Weston-super-Mare from 2005 until 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the United Kingdom Anti-Corruption Champion at th ...

MP (2005), Henry Smith MP (2010) *

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

Caroline Lucas Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2003 to 2006, 2007 to 2012, and 2016 to 2018. She was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parli ...

MP (2004) * Labour:

Roger Godsiff Roger Duncan Godsiff (born 28 June 1946) is a British former politician who served as the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) from 1992 to 2019, for the seats of Birmingham Small Heath, Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath, and Birmingham Ha ...

MP (2007),

John McDonnell John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. He has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington ...

MP (2005),

Catherine McKinnell Catherine McKinnell (born 8 June 1976) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle upon Tyne North since 2010. She has served as Minister of State for School Standards since July 2024. ...

MP (2010),

Grahame Morris Grahame Mark Morris (born 13 March 1961) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Easington since 2010. Morris briefly served on the Opposition frontbench of Jeremy Corbyn in 2016, and now remains ...

MP (2010) *

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

Tom Brake Thomas Anthony Brake (born 6 May 1962) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Carshalton and Wallington in London from 1997 to 2019. He was appointed Director of the cross party pressure group Unl ...

MP (2007), Annette Brooke MP (2010), Lorely Jane Burt MP (2006), Mike Crockart MP (2010),

Lynne Featherstone Lynne Choona Featherstone, Baroness Featherstone, (''née'' Ryness; born 20 December 1951) is a British politician, businesswoman and Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrat List of members of the House of Lords, member of the House of Lords. ...

MP (2006), Don Foster MP (2006),

Duncan Hames Duncan John Hames (born 16 June 1977) is a Director of Policy at Transparency International UK and a former Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Chippenham constituency in Wiltshire from 2010 to 2015. Betwe ...

MP (2005), Andrew George MP (2004), Mike Hancock MP (2004),

Martin Horwood Martin Charles Horwood (born 12 October 1962) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who represented South West England in the European Parliament from 2019 to 2020. He previously served as the Member of Parliament for Cheltenham from 2005 ...

MP (2007), John Leech MP (2010),

Stephen Lloyd Stephen Anthony Christopher Lloyd (born 15 June 1957) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who was twice Member of Parliament (MP) for the seat of Eastbourne. Born in Kenya, he was privately educated in Surrey, before working first as a c ...

MP (2010),

Adrian Sanders Adrian Mark Sanders (born 25 April 1959) is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Torbay in Devon from 1997 until his defeat in the 2015 general election. Early life Sanders is the so ...

MP (2005), Mark Williams MP (2006) *

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...

Elfyn Llwyd Elfyn Llwyd (born 26 September 1951) is a Welsh barrister and politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy in the House of Commons from the 1992 general election until its abolition in 2010, and then for its princip ...

MP (2010) Individuals who have signed but are no longer MPs are: Conservative Party: Sir Richard Body; Labour: Celia Barlow,

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and political activist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabine ...

;

Lembit Öpik Lembit Öpik (, ; born 2 March 1965) is a former British politician. A former member of the Liberal Democrats, he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Montgomeryshire in Wales from 1997 until he lost his seat at the ...

, John Hemmingsimpol.org
Endorsements
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In addition, there exists a growing number of Simpol partner organisations that support the democratic aims and principles of the Simultaneous Policy. These include the

Canadian Action Party The Canadian Action Party (CAP; , ''PAC'') was a Canadian federal political party founded in 1997 and deregistered on 31 March 2017. The party stood for Canadian nationalism, monetary and electoral reform, and opposed liberal globalization an ...

and the

Global Justice Movement The global justice movement is a network of globalization, globalized social movements demanding global justice by opposing what is often known as the “Economic globalization, corporate globalization” and promoting equal distribution of econo ...

. The

n Federal

Election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

of October 2004 saw 59 candidates pledge their support for Simpol. In the UK 200+ candidates for the elections of 2010 pledged to implement the Simultaneous Policy, of whom 24 were elected as MPs.uk.simpol.org - MPs who have signed the Simpol Pledge
/ref> Former

President of East Timor The president of Timor-Leste, officially the President of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste (; ) is the head of state of the Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. The executive powers of the president are limited; however, the P ...

José Ramos-Horta José Manuel Ramos-Horta GCL GColIH (; born 26 December 1949) is an East Timorese politician. He has been the president of East Timor since 2022, having previously also held the position from 20 May 2007 to 20 May 2012. Previously he was Mini ...

has pledged his support for the policy.

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links