THE Conservatives’ invitation to join the Government may seem like an attempt to reach out to a disillusioned electorate, but two would-be Bolton politicians believe their vision of direct democracy goes even further.

Doug Bagnall and Norma Armston are standing for the You Party, which is making its first forays into national politics, and offers everyday people the opportunity to decide how they vote in Parliament.

The You Party was started in 2007 by Mr Bagnall and Andrew Openshaw to give ordinary people a say in how their lives are governed and to tackle voters’ apathy about elections, politicians and their parties.

Having stood as one of six candidates in the 2008 Bolton Council elections, Mr Bagnall is hoping his novel idea of allowing the public to decide how he votes on Parliamentary issues will see him pick up votes in Bolton West on Thursday.

The married father-offour, said: “It might seem like a novel idea in this country but a similar system has worked in Switzerland for years.

“Politicians vote as their party wants them to via the whips system. They are answerable only to the party leader, but if we were elected then we would give people the chance to decide how we would vote on the Parliamentary votes. We would hold regular votes on issues and only then could we say that we represent the views of the majority of our constituents.

“We have got quite a bit of interest and support and plenty of people have come to us offering to help deliver leaflets but the membership numbers are small because it’s difficult getting people to commit further.”

Bolton North East candidate Mrs Armston, who is involved in a number of voluntary groups including the Friends of Heaton Cemetery, Bolton Link and the Cancer Consultative Group, said: “At the last election there were more than 30,000 people who didn’t vote for any party in Bolton West and you have to ask why that is.

“People feel that they have no say and that they are not represented.”

The three key words of the party’s vision are initiative (giving people the chance to force a vote on any issue), referendum (allowing people to reject or accept changes in legislation) and recall (letting people remove an elected official before the end of their term of office).

Mr Bagnall said: “There would have to be procedures in place to implement these but we want this party to be completely about people and their views and we believe that we would give people the chance to change the way they interact with the Government.”