The acronym

 

How it came about

 

I started by thinking about what the important issues actually are.  The most important, Democracy, comes from the realisation that the first priority is to run the country for the benefit of the people.

 

Then I considered the environment, so urgent at the moment that it deserves its own section, and then services and taxation, which are huge subjects in their own rights.  Then I thought about Youth, or young people, because we need to prepare them for the challenges they will face when they get older.

 

So with the letters D, E, S, T and Y, I realised I nearly had the word ‘DESTINY’, which would make a catchy acronym.  So the words ‘Identity’ and ‘Negotiation’ are a little contrived, but they work – just about – and the DESTINY model was born.

 

What it means

 

D is for Democracy

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The first duty of a government is to be governed by the will of the people.  Governments have to make decisions - but the people are the boss.

 

E is for Environment

 

Neglected for so long, the environment must now be government’s next concern.  We can’t get this wrong, or soon we’ll have nowhere to live.

 

S is Services

 

This is what most people consider a government is for.   It includes practically all the government departments, taking in Police, Health, Education, Defence, Transport, etc.  This is a big section!

 

T is for Taxation

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Like it or not, governments have to do this to stay solvent.  All we can hope for is that they do it fairly and sensibly - enough to pay for the services, but drawn in a balanced way so as not to penalise hard work or take money from the most needy.

 

I is for Identity

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You don’t go into government intending to run things in the same way as they’ve always been run.  You want to change things, and put your own stamp on the country.  It's about the values that the country has.

 

N is for Negotiation

 

The government is the representative of the people on the world stage.  It speaks on behalf of the people in Europe, in the Commonwealth, in G8 or G20, in NATO, and in the UN.

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Y is for Youth

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Young people need to be prepared for tomorrow – even if only to ensure they don’t make the same mistakes that we make today.

 

The priorities in the seven parts

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There is an order to the components. The first section, Democracy, takes priority over all the rest, then Environment, and so on.  So you can’t improve the laws of the country until you get the basics right, and you can’t go telling the world what to do until you’ve got your own country in order.  The Brexit negotiations are an example of how not to do it.  The UK (i.e. the Government, with parliament backing) should have decided what we want before negotiating with Europe, not get into this embarrassing mess after a "deal" has been offered.

 

So why is Youth last?  Aren’t our young people worthy of a higher place in the priorities of a government?  Well, young people are very important – so much so that they get their own section in the DESTINY acronym.  But it is the responsibility of the current generation to face the problems of today, not the next one.  Otherwise we’re just passing the buck.  We must deal with our own problems, and then pass on our experience to the next generation.

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