Our society is in danger of becoming fractured like never before. The UK is still suffering from the consequences of the banking crisis and a cruel recession. Vital public services like the NHS are under threat. But our councillors and MPs seem stuck in the tired rut of block politics, unable to come up with the solutions we badly need.

To create the jobs market of the future the Pirate Party wants to support technology and the knowledge economy. It is vital that our UK business startups are not hampered by outmoded laws. All too often great ideas are stopped by an ever-growing tide of trivial, incomprehensible, overreaching patents. We need to enable everyone to take part, by allowing home working through a broadband infrastructure that is fit for purpose.

We need an education system that can equip a new generation to be innovators, not just passive consumers. For instance, we will encourage the adoption of open source software in schools, ensuring that children won't be reliant in the future on buying a particular software package from a particular company. Schools should emphasise understanding of computers, including programming for those pupils with an interest or aptitude for it, and they should provide lessons for pupils on the safe use of the Internet.

In public services, we need to think beyond the tired arguments of cuts versus new taxes. In the NHS, for example, the Pirate Party would stop the drain on this vital resource by ending the artificial monoploy of drug patents. The pharmaceutical industry currently spends around 15% of its patent drug income on research; we will replace that with subsidies to the value of 20%, increasing research budgets while still saving the NHS money. This policy of making all drugs generic will create a massive opportunity for industry to make profits, employ more people and save lives by encouraging the manufacture of newly generic drugs.

It's small wonder that parliament seems to have run dry of fresh thinking. Our political class is drawn from an ever smaller elite. If we are to find a sustainable future for our society, we need new people with new ideas in our public life. The Pirate Party is ready to provide.

Pirate Party Pledges

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• To make the benefits of our culture available to all.
• To defend the NHS. We will work to abolish drug patents, reducing drug costs drastically saving the NHS vast sums of money.
• To make an education system fit for the 21st century. We will encourage the adoption of open source software in schools.
• To cut waste and encourage use of free software in the public sector. We would enact the existing government Open Source Action Plan.
• To support technology and innovation. We will overhaul the patent system raising the bar so outstanding ideas are rewarded and to stop big business stifling competition with a tide of legal action.