General Election systems-mapping insights: joined-up about what? 

General Election systems-mapping insights: joined-up about what? 

With the General Election announced, Party Manifestos are fast in production - but how joined-up will each one be?

A General Election has been sprung on us!

At OnePlanet we have worked with Young Leaders to systems-map UK local government climate plans and on a Young Leaders Climate Manifesto for last November’s COP28.   

As part of our Campaign for Joined-Up Government, this year we have been systems-mapping UK National Policies, and have started to systems-map political party commitments, such as the Labour Party’s Missions, in advance of them publishing their manifestos. 

Here are some of our early thoughts from system-mapping: 

1: Understanding how joined-up any of these manifestos will be, requires us to have some sort of national consensus on what it is we are going to be joined-up about

For example, we want a vibrant economy, but should this be delivered in a way which is good for our health and the environment?

2: To be truly joined-up we will need to look at ensuring local, national, and global issues are all considered in a coherent way.

For example, can we tackle the crisis in the NHS without tackling issues like global warming, which will create medical problems, including heat stress and mental health issues, following extreme weather events such as flooding?

3: We will need to look at root causes, not just tackling symptoms.

For example, to what extent might short term measures for tackling migration be undermined if we don’t also address current and future causes of migration such as global inequality and climate change? 

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