Big business was once all-powerful and workers had few rights. Labour unions were established to change that, helping workers to achieve better pay and conditions and a more balanced distribution of social power.

Today, power is again unevenly distributed. It has shifted towards the centralised state. In the coming year the public sector will spend about half of the nation's income. Government has acquired enormous surveillance powers. More and more laws are passed, with big implications for the way we all live. But while the state has grown, our democratic culture has almost shrivelled up. Never have the politicians seemed such a class apart. The more they talk about "engagement", the more it feels as if they speak a foreign language.

One of the angry voices in a recent BBC Question Time audience shouted out: "Do you think you're better than us?" People have a sense of being mocked by the patronising tone of the political establishment. Now it's time for a new movement that will give voters more powers. That new movement is called the National Union of Voters and it is launching online today. Every British voter can join and every member will have an equal say in deciding the union's reform manifesto.

The weaknesses of Britain's political system have been exposed by this newspaper's daily revelations about MPs' expenses. The Telegraph has performed a vital public service. There is now the huge question of what should happen next. Do we enter a dark period for democracy, with the relationship between voters and politicians deteriorating further? That would be a disaster, because good government depends absolutely on trust. We must use this wake-up moment to create a more responsive and transparent democracy by creating greater equality between voters and those they elect.

The politicians have been quick to suggest their own remedies to the current crisis, but they should not be the sole authors of a new settlement. We can use the internet to remind everyone of that most traditional idea - that Parliament is owned by the people. Voters must be a central part of the renewal process and the National Union of Voters will be a democratic movement that makes it easier for people to represent themselves.

The union starts with the belief that there are four big weaknesses in our democracy. First, the problem of too many MPs thinking they have a safe seat for life. We need reforms that ensure every MP faces meaningful re-selection during the course of every parliament. We also need "recall" mechanisms to give voters the power to sack MPs if they lose the trust of their constituents.

Second, the political class has hidden important information about its income, expenses and connections for too long. We need complete transparency. Third, political parties rely on a few big donors for their money. They would be a lot more responsive to voters if they had to raise their funds from them. So long as they can rely on big business, big labour unions or big government to pay their bills, they will remain detached.

Fourth, the mainstream parties agree on too many big issues, denying debate as they cling to each other like spent boxers. Voters should be able to force Parliament to discuss a broader range of issues, and should be part of the debate. And there should be referendums on the big decisions.

I personally like and respect most politicians. The majority of them don't deserve the public ferocity that is currently directed at them. The Union of Voters is not anti-politician but pro-voter and pro-reforms that give voters more power. The internet gives us a tool that allows the relationship between voters and their representatives to work better. Let's use it.