With a seemingly never-ending flood of expenses scandals, broken election promises and years of inaction on the News International "phone hacking" saga it is no surprise that confidence in our public life is dangerously low. When we talk to people on the doorstep, often the reaction is "Politicians? They're all the same".

However, the Pirate Party is a new voice, and not the same as all the other tired old players. We are free from the influence of lobbyists and party whips. We want to see an end to the block politics that has stifled our system for so long. We are not afraid to talk about the issues that others ignore. We are the right home for the many people fed up with and alienated by the mainstream.

It is time that Britain really gets to hold its elected representatives to account. Anyone elected is first of all responsible to the people, not Wapping editors or a political elite. It is time to put a stop to councillors who don't want to serve their ward members, or MPs who ignore their emails. We want to harness the possibilities of the web and make our candidates genuinely and easily accessible through, for example, the use of social media.

We believe that whistle blowers have a vital part to play in our democracy, whether individuals exposing abuses in the workplace or websites that lay bare the misdeeds of ambassadors and politicians. We have shown this commitment by being the only party to speak out strongly in defence of Wikileaks. It is time for the government to stop paying lip service to openness, and truly embrace transparency.

Pirate Party Pledges:

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Terms and Conditions

• To hold MPs to account. We will introduce a new right for constituents to force a by-election in the event of a loss of confidence in their MP.
• To make elected representatives accessible.
• To defend whistleblowers. We will bring in new legal rights to for individuals exposing corrupt or illegal activities.
• To work for open data and transparency. All available information that could be released under freedom of information request should be public by default.
• To fight for a genuinely free media. Large broadcast groups should not have the opportunity to adversely dominate the media, and we will support legislation for net neutrality.