A NEW "apolitical" party was launched in Wales yesterday, hoping to draw support from those disillusioned with conventional politics.

Writer and philosopher Martin Davies, founder of the Red Dragonhood design label, announced the formation of Newid (Change) during the Laugharne Weekend festival in Carmarthenshire.

Mr Davies, from Swansea, said the new party intended to contest every constituency at the next National Assembly election in 2011, campaigning for the establishment of an independent Welsh "demarchy" - a progressive form of democracy that does away with politicians and political parties in favour of a nationally representative assembly of ordinary citizens.

If it won control, Newid would hold a referendum to gain approval for a written constitution that would set out the rights and responsibilities of every Welsh citizen. Armed with a constitutional mandate, it would renegotiate the national status of Wales with the UK Parliament. Then, having achieved its objectives, the party would disband to make way for a citizen's assembly.

In a demarchy, decision- makers are selected by lot from the whole adult population rather than by election. Everyone selected would be expected to serve for three months at their normal rate of pay with tenure of employment protected by law.

Mr Davies, who recently advocated a parallel Welsh currency that would depreciate in value to encourage consumer spending, said: "This will enable elections to be abolished, saving many millions that can be better spent on health or education, and political parties will no longer be relevant. The same system will be introduced in local authorities.

Martin is also a follower of Gesell's idea of a currency that "rusts" and is IMHO a generally good egg.

"The future is already here -- it's just not very evenly distributed" William Gibson