Douglas Carswell

What will Tory modernisation look like? The 2015 manifesto and beyond....

Do you like music?  I listen all the time. Thanks to Spotify, I've a playlist far bigger than any record or CD collection I ever owned.

But would you put up with it if I, an MP, was to decide for you what was on your playlist? Of course not. You would be appalled.

Even if you shared my taste in the Stereophonics or Shostakovich, you'd think it a bit of a cheek if I was to impose my preferences on you.

So why let people like me impose our preferences on you when it comes to education, or healthcare, or social protection? Having a tiny clique impose their preferences is pretty much the way we run the country.

Not so long ago it was how we did music, too. Most folk could only afford a few dozen records or tapes at best. So it was left to a radio DJ to select music for us.  Sure, we had a bit of choice between stations, and some enterprising producers allowed the public to phone up for a "record request". But basically, we had to make do with what was chosen for us.

One of the reasons I am so optimistic about the future is because I see big changes happening round the corner.  The digital technology that now allow us to select our own music is going to make self selection the norm over many other areas of our lives.

Instead of a national curriculum (a learning playlist, if you like), digital technology will allow us to hyper personalise learning. Each child will have a personalised curriculum designed for them.

Elite Ivy League type degree courses, once the preserve of a carefully chosen few, will be accessible to everyone.

Soon our digitalised medical records will be as secure and portable as our online bank details. Instead of patients being made to stand in line and wait at the convenience of the health care provider, those who wish to do so will have different health care providers queuing up in front of them.

The average English household stumps up an estimated £650,000 tax bill over the course of a lifetime. Imagine if you could allocate even a small portion of the £650,000 of taxes your household pays into a personalised account?  A personalised education account?
A personalised health care account, perhaps? Or a personalised pension pot, which isn't funded by IOUs like the government run one today? What would have once seemed prohibitively bureaucratic will soon be simple.

"But how will people know what is right for them?" you might ask. "It is all very well letting people chose their own music, but surely not their kid's education".

What makes you think MPs are better at spending your money than you are? For years, we've left it to politicos to spend zillions on our account – and not give us what we need or want.

If you aren't prepared to have politicians select your music playlist for you, why trust them with something really vital, like your child's education or your family's health care?

The future for the Conservatives, I suspect, lies in first refining – then articulating - this upbeat, optimistic vision of how things could be.

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