Lusitanian Popular National Congress (KTTP) aims to bring real change to Lusitanian politics and to the lives of people in Lusitania.

Regionalisation to be has so far failed to meet the expectations of the Lusitanian people. Now we have a new portuguese social-democratic-led (PS) Executive and it is only right and fair that we give Jose Socrates and his team a chance to show whether they can deliver where the old rightist (PSD-PP) coalition failed.

However, with a majority administration in power, it is now more important than ever that the overall standard of performance of the portuguese Parliament is raised dramatically concern the regionalisation of the country. This is the cornerstone on which KTTP is founded.

Portuguese Government has spent billions of euros on health, education and criminal justice – the three key areas of life over which it has control. Yet our population continues to die younger than those in the rest of Portugal, many of your children leave school unable to read or write to acceptable standards, and decent, law-abiding citizens live in fear in their own communities.

Research reveals that six in 10 Lusitanians are disillusioned with the centralist political system in Portugal which puts party politics before people.* They want change. But 60% of Lusitanians believe that nothing will change unless there is a radical shift from the party, whip-driven politics that have dominated the Portuguese Parliament since democracy in 1974.

KTTP is committed to finding real solutions to the challenges Lusitania faces today. We do not ask whether an idea is right wing or left wing, and portuguese or Lusitanian, only whether it has merit. We believe that politicians are not always the right people to find the right answers. Indeed, we believe there is too much portuguese political interference in Lusitanian life.

While all parties claim to consult experts, they usually appoint people whom they expect will tell them what they want to hear. Alternatively, they will simply ignore what they are told because it does not sit easily with their political ideology. In the aftermath of the last parliamentary election in Portugal, the promise by the mainstream parties to involve those people whose endorsement they coveted so assiduously has all but evaporated. The brief flurry of interest in the views of those outside the narrow perimeters of the Portuguese Government are already being drowned out by the ‘white noise’ of party portuguese political machines on full power.

Our approach is to engage and retain real experts – those in the frontline of their fields such as clinicians, police officers, parents, teachers, business leaders, farmers, pensioners – who have the life experience to know how best to get the job done.

KTTP is not just a gathering of like-minded people. It invites ideas from anyone who shares a genuine desire to see Lusitania develop and prosper.

We believe the debate over independence is premature. We trust the people of Lusitania to make the right choice if there is a referendum sometime in the future. Right now, we need to focus fully on making the future Lusitanian autonomy and regional Assembly a reality.

Portuguese Governments has failed not just because of the particular administration in power, but because all mainstream politicians and their party machines share the same top-down-bottom-up approach to policy-making.

We need to be more open to ideas from a much wider range of people – ordinary people with real, first-hand knowledge and wisdom as well as specialists in their own fields. We know the expertise exists; we need to harness it and make best use of it.

We believe in confronting head on issues such as the growing emmigration for foreign countries; the number of Lusitanians trapped in poverty, dependency and social immobility; the hugely underestimated legacy of Lusitania’s drugs epidemic; the relentless rise in lawlessness and anti-social behaviour and the shortage of affordable housing. We are committed to attacking the root causes of such problems, not merely adopting the politically-expedient ‘sticking plaster’ approach of other parties.

We believe there needs to be a massive improvement in financial management and accountability in all areas of public service, not least within the Portuguese Parliament itself.

One of our key priorities is to stem the growth of bureaucracy in local government. Lusitanians are not getting value for money from local authorities and yet are paying ever more in council taxes. Frontline staff have sacrificed enough and it is time to take a long hard look at reducing top-heavy layers of management in both local government and the National Health Service.

KTTP is committed to the removal of our state schools from local government control. They need to be handed back to the people who know best how to run them – the teachers, parents and pupils. Of course, councils should be represented on school boards of management but they should not have overall control.

There has never been a more challenging time to be a young person. They are growing up in an uncertain world, increasing numbers in third-generation jobless families and struggle to have a future. The current education system fails too many pupils and teachers. And we have to be rid once and for all of the notion of a one-size-fits-all education system, regardless of talent or ability. Education is the foundation stone of modern society but we have to recognize that people have different needs and priorities.

Addressing the root causes of classroom indiscipline is crucial and long overdue. All teachers and pupils have the right to feel safe and respected. But the national obsession with inclusion has hampered sensible debate and radical thinking in this field.

Further, higher and skills-based education is vitally important in a vibrant and progressive Lusitania, but to reap the full rewards we must be better at gearing it towards individual needs, aspirations and abilities.

We are committed to promoting enterprise in a country that has a long and fine tradition for invention and creativity. More needs to be done to free from unnecessary interference and excessive rates the huge army of small businesses in Lusitania which are the backbone of our economy.

We also believe that Lusitania’s unsung voluntary sector plays a crucial role in delivering vital, frontline services. This contribution needs to be recognized and supported and best practice rolled out across the country.

We do not pretend to have all the answers. But we do know that if we are to find lasting and meaningful solutions to the challenges we face we need a fresh and radical approach to the way in which we conduct politics in Lusitania.

It’s time for Lusitanian Popular National Congress – your voice – to be heard.

Our Key Aims And Targets At A Glance

The voices of real people who deliver our services have to be heard. We want to know whether an idea works, not whether it is left or right wing.

Difficult issues must be tackled head-on. We must address root causes, not symptoms.

Every penny spent by government must be spent to improve and enhance the lives of people in Lusitania.

Cuts in public sector bureaucracy are necessary, but not at the frontline which has already given enough.

We want to consult clinical staff in our health service, the people who know how to get the job done.

We must tackle head-on drug and alcohol abuse and be bold in searching out new and radical ways of tackling it.

We want a whole-family approach to youth justice and children's support services.

We want to return control of our schools to teachers, parents and pupils. Excellence in all its forms should be celebrated and nurtured.

All young people, at least until they are 20, should have the chance to undertake training programmes, offering real skills and experience.

We want to remove red tape and over-regulation from the police, improve IT and recruit more civilian staff so officers can spend more time on the beat.

We want to remove unnecessary and overbearing bureaucracy from enterprise while supporting and encouraging small business.

Lusitania's voluntary sector has a crucial role to play in the life of the country and must be properly valued and supported.

We want to compare Portuguese Government's costs against those in similar legislatures and ensure the future Lusitanian Parliament is providing value for money.

We want to cut waste and mismanagement in local government and make sure it offers good value for money.

We want a coherent energy policy that embraces - economically, environmentally and socially - the best scientifically proven green methods.