Let’s be guided in names by what actually works. Here is a list of all the currently elected minor parties in each state parliament:
NSW
Shooters party
Christian Democratic Party
Animal Justice Party
Victoria
Local Jobs Party
Democratic Labour Party
Shooters Party
Sex Party
South Australia
Family First
Dignity for Disability
West Australia
Shooters and Fishers
There’s a very obvious theme here: every successful minor party has a name which is a “resonant phrase”. All of the names appeal to an easily-understood cause and avoid reference to generic ideology or vague buzzwords (yes there is the Democratic Labour Party, but that begun as an offshoot from a major party rather than something which had to grow up from the ground).
We’ve an evidence based party, so if we’re changing anything we need to be guided by the evidence. We need to find a name that invokes a cause, is easy to understand, and punches through with a clear message.
Some cause-based names could be:
- Digital Rights Party (though I suspect the voter base for this is low, and probably knows of us already)
- Basic Income Party (this movement is rising rapidly, and providing a political outlet for it could bring new volunteers and votes).
- Or others (start thinking now).
If reflecting the breadth of the platform is important we can also append extra ideology words (a la “Christian Democratic Party”), but the cause needs to be up-front so we can be easily found amidst the fug of generic political terms that fills a typical ballot paper.