Is it better to be a medium sized fish in a large pond with many other medium sized fish for company and protection or a very large fish in a small pond that the owner cannot afford to fill up with water
or as my old grandma said ... is it... A wolf that hunts in packs is more likely to snare the mammoth
My aged Grandma always said, "It's no good putting your foot down if you haven't got a leg to stand on!"
The appeal against the legal decision to prevent ex-pats who have lived overseas for more than 15 years to vote in the referendum was refused. They have one last chance in the high court.
An incredible situation this. UK. citizens lose the right to vote after 15 years absence yet in the countries they have gone to they often cannot vote without first becoming naturalized in that land. Altogether this amounts to total disenfranchisement for some people - are they no longer citizens ? In order to protect my own voting rights it was necessary for me to take dual nationality - otherwise I would be in the same situation. Surely nobody should be placed in a situation of not being able to vote for any national government anywhere. Those of us who have been away from Britain for many years are still affected by everything which Britain does - particularly in the case of the coming referendum.
Mmmmm - wasn't it your contention that younger people should have a higher priority vote because they are impacted over a longer period than us old 'uns? If that is the case, you can hardly moan that someone who has not lived in this country for over 15 years cannot vote ! Surely if you have lived in a country for over 15 years you should be contribution to the political process in that country instead of the country you choose to leave? Smacks of wanting to have your cake and eating it.
My criticism here is not just of the UK. but rather of the whole situation - of course a person should vote in the place where they pay their taxes (whether they are naturalized or not, and depending on them speaking the language) however, that is not the case in some EU. nations and if you happen to live in one of those, and have lost your rights in the UK. then you are completely disenfranchised - and this should not be possible within the EU. I was in the situation of having lost my voting rights in the UK. and had to take German nationality in order to get full voting rights there. An additional problem is that Germany only recognizes dual nationality within the EU. which means that, in the event of a Brexit, future Britons would have to give up their nationality completely to get voting rights here.
I disagree with that - I can't see why anyone should be barred from voting in countries in which they are recognised as citizens, regardless of whether or not they still live there. At least cologne is still interested in doing so, which is more than can be said of 33.9% of the UK electoral register. I've lived in the UK for 12 years now and hold dual nationality entitling me to vote in both the UK and Australian elections - and I can do so because I am interested enough in both and have a personal stake in both. Our move here was made not knowing whether or not it would be permanent - and that is still the case. The Australian government's rules allow for votes to be cast from overseas, with the proviso that voters register to do so prior to leaving, maintain their name on that register and vote at a designated Australian polling station - usually their embassy. As voting is compulsory in Australia, if I choose not to vote in a particular election I am asked to explain why - my reason has always been accepted, that I was unable to travel to the nearest polling station on the day. On 2nd July this year however, I will be making sure that I'm in London for the next election - my opportunity to help rid Australia of their accursed right-wing government, which is following the same ruinous path as the Tories over here.
It's quite simple here - if you're over 16, have lived here continuously for 2 years or for the last 6 months with additional period(s) of residence totalling 5 years, you can vote.
Unfortunately Germany is one of the most restricted Barry. When I first came here I could vote in the local elections and the European ones (because of being an EU. citizen). Voting in national elections and the state ones is restricted only to holders of a German passport - Germany also does not recognize dual nationality with any country outside of the EU. which means that a boy with Turkish parents, but born in Germany, is considered Turkish until the age of 18 and then he has to choose. If he has emotional problems with giving up the nationality of his parents then he can, quite literally, live his whole life in Germany but not have a vote there.
I think that this is one of a never ending list of Euro myths BB. There are no bananas harvested in the EU (at least not for export) ! If there were any regulations regarding size of bananas etc. they are likely to come from the shipping industry. Britain loves nothing more than a good Euro myth, and the EU. has no effective media possibilities to counteract them. Others have been the possible renaming of the British sausage - as ''emulsified high-fat offal tube`` (which, compared to German and Polish ones, they probably are). Another was the supposed EU. controls regarding the exposure of barmaid's breasts at the Oktoberfest in Munich. Another myth arose that the EU. was trying to ban the breeding of Corgis and other small dog breeds - thus striking at the heart of Royalist Britain (I would be in favour of a massive tax on Corgis) .
I think you'll find that it's not a myth... http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1994R2257:20060217:EN:PDF
BB. this is all history. These rules were repealed on 19 December 2011 under the recommendations of the agricultural commission in order to cut red tape and under the assumption that it was not the responsibility of the EU. to over regulate these things. However, if the same tendency towards regulation can prevent gene manipulated rubbish from America entering our markets then would you complain ?
The problem with regulations on food is that they have to be complicated in order to try and prevent loopholes. Food manufacturers are not particularly ethical. They are in the business of making profit, not creating the best nutritional product. Food with high levels of fat, sugar and salt are appealing to people on a number of levels but are too easily obtainable now compared to our evolutionary past. There needs to be some sort of regulation. Unfortunately it is difficult to make that regulation simple, especially when it has to be translated into a large number of languages. If there is no regulation there will be huge health costs in the future. It comes down to ideology in the end. I personally don't like the U.S. system of leaving it to health insurers to charge higher premiums to people after they have consumed rubbish along with the reactive suing of food producers. E.U. regulation is a clumsy system but I can't think of a better one. It is more efficient than each individual government doing it, too. Of course, there is the "nanny state" augment against this. Each individual should be able to make their own choice. Fair enough, but I don't have time to find out all the details on a vast range of topics, nor do I have the scientific skills. Large food manufacturers have much huge marketing budgets and skills than any consumer health groups. This is why we need governmental watchdogs. I think the E. U. Is the best that has been created so far despite all its flaws.
Interesting reading the Telegraph who have had oscillating remain or leave headlines every other day... based on their readership. Seems that most readers based on a Poll are now coming down on on remain... most men and most over 65s....
Utterly utterly bored stiff of the referendum now, let it be over soon please.... maybe a few fireworks after the result hopefully, it will be interesting whatever the outcome.
