The government is facing pressure from a new group dedicated to improving the environment, communities and Britain's democracy.

The non-party Active Citizens Transform campaign (Act) was launched on Monday at a meeting of activists in London.

Campaigners want to speak up for interests not represented by big lobbying firms or perceived to be electorally popular by politicians.

With the imminent general election campaign set to see a focus on the fight against crime and anti-social behaviour and the question of tax cuts or public spending rises, the group said it wanted issues such as the environment and constitutional reform to remain on the agenda.

Act believes that a commitment to tackling climate change and encouraging sustainable communities in a meaningful way would command majority support among the electorate and would represent a "reasonable revolution" within government.

"The people who support Act want to see two things addressed," co-director Charles Secrett told the BBC.

"One is the fact that Britain's way of life and its economy is fundamentally unsustainable in environmental, economic and social terms.

"The second is that the government is failing to deliver on those solutions and is increasingly becoming unaccountable both to parliament and to the electorate.

"Act's purpose is to transform these parts of our society and do it through citizen action. We believe it is only citizens and communities which can deliver these types of radical reform."