Nomination for Party Leader: Loz Kaye

[LozKaye]

I have been giving this much thought, and I have decided to put myself forward as a candidate for leadership of Pirate Party UK. As I wrote in my pitch for party governor, I am a 40 year old composer, musical director and I have worked in the higher education sector for over a decade now. From this semester I will be, ironically enough, teaching at the music industry's high temple, the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, cofounded by Paul McCartney.

I joined the party having been impressed by the Swedish pirates. It felt like something of a political homecoming: a movement that is both provocative and thoughtful, concerned with the liberty of the individual while still having room for us who are concerned about society as a whole. I suppose it was the Digital Economy Act that transformed me from member to activist. I felt a burning shame that as a musician our union was amongst those pushing for a flawed piece of legislation threatening surveillance and censorship. I acted as Election Agent during the General Election. This proved to be one of the steepest learning curves of my life, so I am ready for any new challenges political life might throw up. I am currently a Party Governor.

Why I have held back is I have read Andy's statement about what a leader should be and do and I treat it very seriously. What I can contribute is that I am confident in engaging with people and the media. That is, after all, what my day job is. I could take on the front figure role, and as a musician I immediately neutralise the 'you are just chancers out to get free stuff' point of view. However, I have observed the last few days exchanges with some disquiet. I have no desire to spend time trying to referee people angrily squabbling over petty differences. We have the Labour party for that. I would like to briefly as I can set out a strategy that I would set out as leader that would move us forward from this point.

Channeling the Passion

The reason I mentioned what changed me from being a member to an activist is that I am sure you have all had similar moments. I think the leadership change should be a chance for us to reinvigourate what we are passionate about as pirates. The goals I care about are:
- rendering the Digital Economy Act dead in the water if it remains in force. We should become the focus for making it unenforceable.
- turning back the tide of surveillance. While there have been some good initiatives from the government, on the ground it feels like business as usual.
- getting people to see that open data can transform the way we interact with government as citizens. And save money too!

Our main area of meeting is the forum, but we need to build the grassroots and I see the role of RAOs and local organisations as key in this. This would help to channel our passion in to action.

Taking the Agenda

To be able to attract more members and influence opinion we need to be able to take and form the political agenda. Having a leader and press office that is able to respond quickly to events is key.
Equally we need to build a team of spokespeople in main policy areas who are able to articulate policy in response to news in a timely fashion.

Building the Political Structure

As I see it, it is time for the Leadership of this party to take on a purely political role. A key aspect of this is that the Leader should not be a voting member of the NEC. Instead we should have a Party Chair, to oversee the management of the Party and enable the leader to focus purely on political arm of the party. I would see myself in this leadership role and seek another chair.

I put this forward as I think it is a sensible and realistic way to divide up responsibility. Also it allows candidates to succeed in the areas they are competent in. It is not that I want the debate to around the leadership to be another round of examining paragraphs. It is about enabling the party to achieve its political aims in the clearest way possible.

I would like to play my part in bringing that about. There is much on the horizon for us to worry about- the coming enforcement of the DE Act, ACTA, weekly new encroachments on our freedoms around the world. If you think I could be the right person to help take a stand, I will do my best to find a way forward.

Loz Kaye ☠

[Gavman]

As can be seen here: http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2493&start=80#p21693 Loz has the required number of nominations to be entered as an offical candidate for Leader

[AndrewTindall]

It could be said that one of Andy's flaws as leader was not engaging with the members as much as he should have. Equally, despite all the effort you put in in person, you are not at all very active online. If elected, what would you do to remedy this, or do you think that in appointing a chairman it is not so much of an issue for yourself?

[M2Ys4U]

I'd like to fully endorse this nomination.

Having worked with Loz during the general election and onwards, he has the right attitude, dedication and belief in the Pirate cause, as he showed doing his role as Tim Dobson's election agent.

He also hands out flyers like a machine

Good luck Loz!

[samgower]

Could you please expand on your plans to grow grassroots support?

[rancidpunk]

I've been pulling my non - existent hair out trying to decide whether to stand, I'm not going to now. I think Loz is the best person for the job, very glad you are standing.

[LozKaye]

To pick up on Andrew T's question-

I would see the leader's role as being actively interested in and supportive of all the different types of activity of the membership. And yes, this would mean a responsibility to engage usefully online more actively. In particular as I wrote I hope to facilitate the political debate and the building of the political backbone of the party.
Equally I hope to see the party diversifying the way it acts politically, transforming the debate in action and engagement in the places we live.

[rancidpunk]

Ofcom has said that it would like to see the level of evidence required to be tested in court before an ISP sends a warning letter under the DEA.
How do you feel about PPUK using the test cases as the point that we should start organising public demonstrations to allow us to take advantage of media coverage?
If the media industry refuses to do this and as it is not obliged to under the act, should we be calling for this to be required of them?

Would you allow party funds to be used to buy some kind of "demo packs" (flags, PPUK bibs, etc.), possibly held by RAOs, so that we have the logisistics already in place to provide some "brand recognition" for the party at event's and demo's that we attend or organise? They could also be used when we set up stalls or get out on the High Streets like they did in Glasgow recently.

What are your feelings on the ACTA treaty, do you think it will completely overshadow the DEA once it is signed?

I have seen it suggested on the forums that one of our aims is to form a government to enable us to enact our policies, would you agree that we should stick to the original PP idea of becoming influential enough that one of the parties with a full manifesto would agree to adopt our policies and hence negate the need for our existense?

I have seen some frustration from members that we haven't expanded our manifesto to make us more appealing to voters, how do you feel about expanding our manifesto policies?

Will you talk to us more and give us your honest opinions as our leader? I feel that a lot of forum debates and policy formulation has been needlessly dragged out because of a lack of direction from our leadership.

How do you feel about authorising the invasion of Antartica to prevent the further expansion of the evil penguin empire?

[glambert]

How do you feel about authorising the invasion of Antartica to prevent the further expansion of the evil penguin empire?

Leave the army of Tux alone!!!

[scottishduck]

To pick up on Andrew T's question-

I would see the leader's role as being actively interested in and supportive of all the different types of activity of the membership. And yes, this would mean a responsibility to engage usefully online more actively. In particular as I wrote I hope to facilitate the political debate and the building of the political backbone of the party.
Equally I hope to see the party diversifying the way it acts politically, transforming the debate in action and engagement in the places we live.

I don't think as leader you necessarily *need* to be active on the forums. Just a regular report (weekly/monthly) on what you're doing and what you intend to do in the future.

[glambert]

To pick up on Andrew T's question-

I would see the leader's role as being actively interested in and supportive of all the different types of activity of the membership. And yes, this would mean a responsibility to engage usefully online more actively. In particular as I wrote I hope to facilitate the political debate and the building of the political backbone of the party.
Equally I hope to see the party diversifying the way it acts politically, transforming the debate in action and engagement in the places we live.

I don't think as leader you necessarily *need* to be active on the forums. Just a regular report (weekly/monthly) on what you're doing and what you intend to do in the future.

This.

[rancidpunk]

To pick up on Andrew T's question-

I would see the leader's role as being actively interested in and supportive of all the different types of activity of the membership. And yes, this would mean a responsibility to engage usefully online more actively. In particular as I wrote I hope to facilitate the political debate and the building of the political backbone of the party.
Equally I hope to see the party diversifying the way it acts politically, transforming the debate in action and engagement in the places we live.

I don't think as leader you necessarily *need* to be active on the forums. Just a regular report (weekly/monthly) on what you're doing and what you intend to do in the future.

Would you consider a compromise, such as having a "Leaders forum" so that members could address you directly and openly?
I really feel the lack of top down communication has been one of the main reasons for our general decline. Many that don't post on the forum, like me and borgs , will still visit the forums to keep up to date. It may just be me that feels that the forums are the place for the leadership to engage with us and I know it would consume a lot of time, but a small party like ours is only going to be hindered by a distant leader. Perhaps asking people to answer on your behalf, even on a post by post basis would work.

[Finlay_A]

I don't know if I'm really bothered by having a leader that isn't a huge forum poster: I'd rather see more regular blogposts and the like.

[cabalamat]

To pick up on Andrew T's question-

I would see the leader's role as being actively interested in and supportive of all the different types of activity of the membership. And yes, this would mean a responsibility to engage usefully online more actively. In particular as I wrote I hope to facilitate the political debate and the building of the political backbone of the party.
Equally I hope to see the party diversifying the way it acts politically, transforming the debate in action and engagement in the places we live.

I don't think as leader you necessarily *need* to be active on the forums. Just a regular report (weekly/monthly) on what you're doing and what you intend to do in the future.

I think it helps if the leader is a semi-regular on the forum; although I'd not want him to be posting here in place of getting real work done. But posting often enough to get a good exchange of views with the membership would be ideal.

[cabalamat]

Would you consider a compromise, such as having a "Leaders forum" so that members could address you directly and openly?

Nice idea.

[glambert]

RE: Leaders Forum:

Prime Ministers Questions style? Would be quite useful I think.

[Vivan]

Could you please expand on your plans to grow grassroots support?

[LozKaye]

Could you please expand on your plans to grow grassroots support?

From samgower .

We should aim to develop grassroots Pirate groups on a local level. I would like to see us engage with our membership outside of the forums. The fact is, for a member to join the party, sign up, pay their fee, and then have no further involvement other than occasionally reading forum posts; it should not surprise us that such members eventually get bored, and forget about, the Pirate Party.
To rectify this we need to develop local groups that engage with members. The Pirate Party can become a social group, where members can meet and make friends with each other, and campaign in their local area. It would mean there would be a “next step” after joining the party: contact your local group. A member that knows the other members in their area, meets up with them from time to time, and through this groups plays an active role in campaigning, will be a member for life.
As well as members, we need to, as a party, engage directly with the people we would hope one day to represent. This should be the job of every candidate, or hopeful candidate. I see activity focussed on making ourselves key parts of the communities we are in engaging with people in open data, tech, music and law scenes, to name but a few. We would stand candidates is places where we had active and vibrant local Pirate groups. These groups will be the backbone of any campaign.
So how do we achieve this, especially from central Party assets? Firstly we should encourage our candidates and active Pirates, and RAOs, to set up informal groups where we have enough members to do so. Unlike the regional groups, they would not necessarily be expected to have formal meetings with minutes taken, etc. Such groups could then take an active role in their local community, and centrally we would provide them with the means to do so. This would involve providing materials for street stalls (banners, flags etc), as well as party literature. A wide variety of leaflets, on an ongoing basis, would be the key here.
This is the vision anyway, it will take time of course. But a lot is possible even in a short time.

[LozKaye]

Ofcom has said that it would like to see the level of evidence required to be tested in court before an ISP sends a warning letter under the DEA.
How do you feel about PPUK using the test cases as the point that we should start organising public demonstrations to allow us to take advantage of media coverage?
If the media industry refuses to do this and as it is not obliged to under the act, should we be calling for this to be required of them?

From rancidpunk

I absolutely agree that this is the focus of our next big assault on the public consciousness. The DEBill then DEAct was one of the biggest leaps of interest in our point of view in a wider public, and it created a huge amount of concern and anger which to a certain extent we were able to channel. We must be ready to do so again. We need to have information ready for people when they are faced with potential warning letters and even court appearances that is easy to understand and can help people resist the DEA. Then we can point to us being the party willing and able to help people. The more information we can gather the better, and the old lady torrenting stories are a gift to us. And yes, then will be the time for demonstration again. As I have stated, it is my goal that we render the DEA useless. ...I'm old enough to remember the PollTax, after all.....

To a certain extent, the lawyers are in fact one step ahead of us. So for example Ralli Solicitors from Manchester are already preparing a group harrasment action against copyright ambulance chasers ACS Law, the latest coverage I've seen is in Which : http://www.which.co.uk/news/2010/08/law ... n--226522/ . Already anyone trying to enforce 'file sharing allegations' is getting a bad name. Even if ISPs cave you can be sure that there will also be a bunch of solicitors ready to jump in. Once again, the better informed we are, better.

[samgower]

From samgower .

...

Thank you for your answer.