Labour's third-term will require a new and convincing theory of "special" democratic election.  Foundation hospitals, Police Boards, School Boards - if they are to generate a real sense of local legitimacy, must be directly elected.  "Indirect democracy" - as with the old utility Boards (I was once on the London Water Board, as a Hackney Councillor!), the National Parks Authorities, the Police authorities, Harbour Boards - even New Town Authorities - that will no longer wash.  The cause of democracy has advanced dramatically throughout the globe, since those days.  

Indirect democracy is no democracy.

It was sloppy thinking about the democratic process which sunk Alan Milburn's commitment to foundation hospitals, and resulted in the unconvincing dogs-dinner which the legislation now represents.  The same fate could await David Blunkett's Police Boards, unless he is very careful.  Charles Clarke might even try to restrict the franchise of school Boards to "local parents", or even to signed-up members of a PTA...

That would not wash.  If these new bodies are to command legitimacy in the hearts and minds of local communities, the election of their members must be by way of an impeccable democratic process.  I believe that such bodies should generate the legitimacy required (a) to levy taxes (e.g. by way of rate precept) and (b) take difficult public-service "rationing" decisions (e.g. in health, education).  I would indeed like to see development control decisions assigned to specialist planning Boards, elected in the same way.

This is how the new special election process should, in my view, work.

1. Electors should be drawn exclusively from the Electoral Roll, which should continue to be prepared as at present, with the recent changes to continuous entry and departure.  Therefore only those registered to vote in a "general" election should be allowed to vote in a special election - this would, I believe, increase the incentive to "get registered".

2. Voting should be "distance-voting" - i.e.  by mail, or E-mail, or Internet, perhaps even by phone, without involving the conduct of "Polling Booth" elections - according to the Government's general success with making these remote systems work. 

3. Polling Stations There should be no single "Election Day", seeking to combine (as in the United States) many different elections into a single massive ballot paper, with voting booths and the full electoral paraphernalia. Given distance voting, the provided that the statutory provisions for periodicity were observed, election dead-lines could be determined as convenient for the locality, from local system to local system. This diversity would tend the reduce the influence of the mainstream political parties, which would be desirable.

4. Special Registration  Electors should be required to "register in advance" their interest in casting votes in specialist elections - and if that interest were not registered by a given trigger-stage, no vote would be accorded.  There should be no precondition for such specialist registration, by way of fee or contribution - registration should be free, but entirely voluntary. Candidates and others seeking to influence the special electorate would be issued with a full electoral register before the election, and would be free to contact electors in any appropriate manner. The process would be analogous to that now used for trade-union and other association elections, mobilising a combination of "official" documentation and partisan electoral statements.

Important secondary issues would certainly arise.  If a foundation hospital (from say, Wandsworth) were appointed under contract to run a hospital in Hounslow, would there have to be new elections, for Hounslow? How long could elected members serve, standing for re-election?  Should elected members sit alongside "appointed" members, or should the two categories have their own distinct functions? The answers to these questions will vary dramatically, from function to function.

• But the new process of "special election" - I say - should be common throughout, accumulating over the years its own distinctive legitimacy.