As an FYI I got a ticket off my mate who had a spare at last minute, we had a nice drink at the B&Q but I think the picnic and radio enthusiast mob would of looked a little out of place
Hahahaha........Cerny you are a tad aggressive today. Been on the glue ?? I know schools next week but don't worry, exams ain't till next year bruv
I agree with you Ellers in that the system is preferable to those that openly discriminate against genders, ethnic groups etc but there is still room for massive improvement. Thatcher was extremely controversial and a marmite character but she never won a majority, she only had a record of 43%. That cannot be right, she was able to be in a position of power and pass down legislation whereby she had never claimed a majority. For me, democracy is a myth, in this country at least. We had no say in entering the Iraq War and the media were used by the Government to distort the facts and convince the public it was the right idea. We had no say in bedroom tax or any of the other policies being passed down. In my view we are taught to be passive because it helps the Government pass through their policies without opposition. I can't imagine 30 years ago something like Bedroom tax would have been accepted without some kind of protest (at least). We are a nation run by wealthy politicians that purely put their own interests (as well as that of peers/corporations) above the mass populous. When families are struggling to make ends meet, tax credits are cut for the rich. When normal families can't afford burials for their loved ones, they have to chip in for Thatcher's. When disability benefits are being cut, we create more loopholes to make prosecution for corporations committing tax fraud even more difficult. People have become so disillusioned with Politicians that they no longer care and as Uber says they'll vote tactically i.e If you are a vehemently anti-Labour Tory but live in an area where Labour/Lib Dem is split 50/50 you'll vote Lib Dem so that Labour don't get in. A Labour vote in Wimbledon, Putney or Kensington & Chelsea essentially counts for nothing, as does a Tory vote in Liverpool, Brighton or the North East, that can't be right in my view, every vote should mean something or contribute in some way, Real democracy exists in Switzerland via Direct Democracy something that has been opposed many a time in the US but I'd rather majority rule (normal people) than minority rule (bank executives, Polticians, Lords etc) but each to their own.
whilst first past the post is not perfect at least stuff gets done and if you don't like it vote the bastards out next time over here no one party gets a majority so every 3 years they cobble together a coalition 4 partys with the torys in charge this time but little gets done as one of the little partys (2 of them are 1 member partys)wants their stuff done orthey might take teir ball home btw what percentage of the vote did blair get
A good post, District, which only a madman would try to disagree with. So here goes. As I said on an earlier post, I just cannot see proportional representation being a step in the right direction for the UK, especially if it leads (as I suspect it would) to impotent government. Whilst every single vote should, really should, count, we must have strong government with the power to bring about change, not a hamstrung debating chamber struggling for consensus at every turn. I have no time whatsoever for the socio-liberal, namby pamby type of politics currently served up by all sides of the House, but I support the "first past the post" system that gives one party the best chance to effect change. I can't disagree with your piece on bedroom tax and the like, but fear that you may have ever so slightly swallowed the left-wing propaganda on tax and the rich. We have a vast, really vast, public sector, built up enormously by the last Labour government. Not only that, but Labour threw huge sums at managers within the public sector so that the cost of cutting away the dead wood now in an attempt to cut the deficit is so substantial that they're picking on the easy prey of frontline services instead. Scandalous? You betcha! But wholly understandable under the circumcisions (snigger). The enormous public sector has to be fed and watered through taxation. And that taxation can only come from revenues gleaned from a thriving private sector. Taxes paid by public sector workers is merely re-cycling old money in ever decreasing circles. So it is imperative that the risk-takers and entrepreneurs of the private sector have rewards that match the risks they have to take in order to create wealth for the economy as a whole. I have had to stick in substantial sums (to me, at least) of risk capital in my career to date, perhaps secured against property and the like, locked in for considerable periods of time and therefore denied to my family such that we've gone without things other families might take for granted (like holidays and the like). I've had to write some sums off, never to be seen again. When I have had a return - particularly in this economic climate - I've had to pay nearly half in taxation. I'm currently facing the prospect of having to pay taxes 12 months ahead of a return that I may not even make, with no firm guarantee that I will be able to reclaim all of it back at some indeterminate date in the future. Some may get the violins out, but for me it is a very difficult, risky time. I work 50-60 hours per typical week and without the work that I do, others would not be in employment and others would not be making life-changing sums for themselves; both groups consequently paying material levels of taxation. These taxes are subsidising profligate lifestyles of the type that abhorrent Philpott lived, as well as paying for Lesbian Outreach Counsellors and other enormously worthy roles. Leave the money in my pocket and I'll go spend it with local tradesmen or simply plug it into another venture that will employ more people and (hopefully) generate more wealth for the UK economy. I get quite upset when I hear the constant griping at the so-called rich. I am not rich, but I flatter myself that I can spend my money more wisely than any government.
Great how its effecting this nation and I sense more things to come as Cameron is looking very isolated and there has never been a better time to change politics for the better
The current system allows more of a political voice than a true proportional representation for precisely the reasons you said - you can affect the outcome (even if your geographical location means that you tactically vote someone out rather than electing your preferred choice if they're not in the race). The only corruption is the moving of political boundaries for voting gain. There's not too much swing overall between parties and so every parliament would be hung (leading to stalemate as the ever eloquent Uber says). Add in the prospect of a representative percent of BNP etc which is what an element of society may want but is a disruptive slant on the process. IMO, the problem is the lack of diversity in the three main parties, with there shuffling around the same points and opposing each other just for the sake of seeming independent. That and the crocodile smiles, spin and abuse of power where politics would be enhanced by principle, belief, honesty and integrity.
Excellent point which I can't disagree with. I perhaps went OTT, my gripe isn't so much with the rich, it's contingents of the rich that use the weapons at their disposal I.e the media to distort the facts and turn the public against the most vulnerable.
Understand you Matt but I feel every vote should count, I agree that PR would just lead to more diluted governments and coalitions but there's no such thing as democracy when only 50% of votes count. In my house in London if I voted Labour it would be a pointless vote, and if I voted Tory in my house in Birmingham it would again be a pointless vote.
