Rescuing
Democracy in the United Kingdom from our current Elected
Dictatorship
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Spin, not
face-to-face confrontations with the voters, is the Government's
chosen method of communication. Ordinary
people are dangerous. Ordinary people might ask a question
which throws a politician 'off message'; the Cabinet member
might reveal himself or herself to be a human being like
us, and not a programmed android. Worse still, he or she
might tell the truth.
Ann Leslie - Daily Mail, September
16, 2004
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Death
Toll: 1,490 US - 86 UK - 6,164 Iraqi - 15,782 civilians - 25 media
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After
a clear vote against them, we still got eight non-elected
Regional Assemblies. When we vote against the EU Constitution,
we'll get them anyway.
Letter from P.Cove, Aylesbury, BUCKS.-
Daily Mail, January 31, 2005
THE
TIMES slavish support for the Government worries some
members of the paper's staff, not to mention any perspicacious
readers who are left. Political editor Philip Webster
was questioned about this when he addressed colleagues
as part of an in-house 'masterclass' exercise. Small wonder.
One of his Blair-worshipping subordinates wrote a news
story yesterday poo-pooing the row over Labours anti-semitic
poster mocking Michael Howard, saying it was merely £5million
worth of 'free publicity' for the party.
Ephraim
Hardcastle - Daily Mail, Febrauary 2, 2005
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PROMISES,
PROMISES!
By
Edward Heathcoat Amory - Daily Mail, February 2, 2005
Does
Tony Blair really think that they can get away with it again?
'Can work. Should work. Incapacity Crackdown. Tough Action on
the Workshy.'
Cranking
out the same old tune . . . . Comment
- Daily Mail, Feb. 2, 2005
The
move comes straight from New Labour's little book of pre-election
stunts: always talk tough on welfare, but ever do anything
about it. So, bang on cue and as predictable as the sunrise,
this Government proclaims the biggest shake-up in benefits
in half a century. How often we've been here before. Ten
years ago, Mr Blair was insisting 'it is wrong to spend
billions of pounds keeping able-bodied people idle'. He
promised to 'think the unthinkable' on welfarism. He was
going to be bold, brave and resolute. He told us so, again
and again.
So,
what's happened? Nothing. Zero. Zilch.
Indeed,
at a time of high employment and unprecedented growth,
this Prime Minister has presided over a welfare explosion
that now costs £142billion a year, compared with
less than £95billion when it came to power.
Nothing
is more scandalous in this huge surge in state dependency
than growth in incapacity benefit, currently paid to 2.7
million claimants. And while some are certainly in genuine
need, the Government knows full well that many if not
most are perfectly capable of working.
With
a black hole in the public finances and taxes going through
the roof, the case for real reform is unanswerable. Yet
these proposals don't tackle the present problem. They
apply only to new claimants - and will take another 20
years to achieve.
The
promises made so long ago by Mr Blair will have taken
a third of a century to fulfil. How many extra tax billions
will be wasted before his 'toughness' begins to bit (if
ever it does) is anybody's guess.
This
isn't serious policy. This is an attempt to lull and gull
the voters by a dilatory and incompetent Government that
can't be believed, can't be trusted and knows only how
to squeeze taxpayers till the pips squeak.
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Another
General Election looms and so, predictably, New Labour once again
pretends to embrace welfare reform. Except that the Prime Minister
has been promising exactly the same thing since 1997, and the
opposite has happened.
In
a buoyant economy, the welfare state has ballooned, more and more
Britons have been sucked into the dependency culture, the bills
of social failure have risen, and yet New Labour still hopes that
it can promise to reverse the trend and be believed.
In
1997 the Prime Minister told us that 'an inactive life on benefit'
would no longer be an option.
In
1998, he was going to 'reform incapacity benefit' while assuring
voters that 'for too long, governments have talked about reform
by lacked the courage to see it through'.
In
1999, he wrote in the Mail about 'the end of the something-for-nothing
welfare state'.
But
incapacity benefit has become an even worse scandal, an annual
£7.7billion hole in the national budget. Ministers have
known for years that the vast majority of the 2.7 million claiming
the benefit are in fact fit and healthy. In Mr Blair's own
constituency of Sedgefield, 13% of the workforce claim it.
Yet
for seven years, nothing has been done. The truth is that it has
got much worse, as New Labour presided over a dramatic rise in
the number of those under 25 claiming this benefit to nearly 160,000
today. Many young people have simply swopped a pointless New Deal
training scheme for a slot on the incapacity roll.
Welfare
spending under Labour has risen from £94.5 billion when
they took power, to £142 billion today. In
real terms the increase is greater than that in the education
budget, and close to the total increase in spending on health
care.
A
recent study found that 30% of all households receive half or
more of their income from the state. For pensioner house-holds,
the percentage rises to 60%. And many of these are on pernicious
means-tested benefits, undermining the incentive to work and save.
That's
why in 1993 Gordon Brown promised 'the end of the means test for
elderly people'. But since taking power, he has massively extended
means-testing, so that half of all pensioners are eligible for
the means-tested pensions credit.
The
aim of this spending has been to coax people back into the jobs
market, through the New Deal and other schemes. But, in fact,
the £5billion New Deal has had at best a negligible effect
on employment. Indeed, the vast majority of the millions who have
been on such schemes would have found jobs anyway thanks to the
buoyant economy.
Meanwhile,
the massive increase in spending on lone parents - they are five
times more likely to be receiving welfare than couples - may have
encouraged a few single mothers back into the jobs market. But
it has discouraged people from getting married and living together.
So
not only does the shadow of the welfare state loom larger than
ever over Britain after 7 years of Labour Government, but the
way in which that money is spent has magnified its moral and social
damage.
Surely
there can't be anyone left so gullible as to give this untrustworthy
Prime Minister the benefit of the doubt on a subject where he
has so consistently failed to deliver on his promises?
For
the health of our democracy, we, the people of the United Kingdom,
must find a way to force Mr Blair to resign
Such
defiance of the democratic process and the will of the majority
of we people of the UK, must be exposed by voters as a matter
or urgency, and not just in the two by-elections we have had this
July and the European elections in June 2004. But how can this
be done?
The
most effective way of getting our deceitful PM to resign would
be to mobilise the army of Labour MPs currently in the House of
Commons and get them to demand it, the loss of their seat to be
a penalty if they did not. All voters in Labour-held constituencies
need to write a letter along these lines to their local Labour
MPs:
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Dear
Despite
his absolute and unequivocal assurances over the past year
of the serious risk to our security of Saddam Hussein's
'weapons of mass destruction', Prime Minister Blair
has admitted, that the threat was non-existent. For that
critical error of judgement and for his gross incompetence
in handling this very important issue, I ask you to take
immediate steps to ensure that Tony Blair does the honourable
thing and resign without delay..
I
would therefore be much obliged if you would propose and
help mobilise a Parliamentary vote of 'No Confidence' in
Mr Blair which, despite Labour's huge majority, would leave
the PM with no option but to resign.
If
I get no reply to this letter, I shall assume you will continue
to support Mr Blair as our Prime Minister. In such circumstances
I shall not vote for you in the forthcoming General Election.
Signed:
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Simple,
non-violent, protest letters along these lines on a variety of
issues could be the basis for re-vitalising our democracy and
increasing voters' interest and participation in politics. Download
a printable copy of the above letter here.
There
is another way for the voice of the silent majority to be heard,
a voice that made sure broken promises would not only be revealed,
but punished in subsequent elections.
In
the year available before the General Election expected in 2005,
many topics are available as ammunition, each one asking questions.
A weapon for our purpose will be the results of Opinion Polls
in individual constituencies using ICM, NOP, Gallop, Mori
or YouGov.
Questions
suggested for this purpose are listed here.
CAST
YOUR VOTE ON A VARIETY OF OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES HERE.
Current
and prospective Parliamentary candidates of all Parties running
for election could share a platform at public forums in every
constituency. They would be presented with the results of
polls on this issue expressed by the majority of voters in that
constituency.
The candidates could be asked if their own views and that of their
Party manifesto corresponded with the polls, and if not, how they
intended to represent the will of the majority of local voters.
Local and National Press, Radio and TV coverage would be arranged
and the results published on this web site.
Here
is another powerful strategy for using your vote effectively in
the forthcoming General Election. Send your sitting and prospective
MPs a letter defining your requirements if they want your vote.
This example deals with the proposed
EU Constitutional Treaty.
Your
letters would end: "If you do not answer
this letter, I shall take it that you intend to follow the Government
line. I shall act accordingly in the forthcoming General Election.
Or
why not create a questionnaire that you send to all the candidates
in your constituency, getting them to give yes/no answers to questions
of your choice, and ending it with the same paragraph(above).
Download
a printable example of the questionnaire.
It
is high time for the people of this United Kingdom to stop allowing
themselves to be manipulated by politicians. We need our representatives
in Parliament to genuinely reflect the view of the majority in
their own constituency, even if this means going against their
personal and/or their party's policy. While they may argue their
case, hoping to change the minds of the majority in their constituency,
they should ultimately be obliged to reflect the majority view
of those who elect them.
It
will be argued by politicians of all parties that most voters
don't have the knowledge necessary to express an opinion on important
subjects at issue, and that our vote is a form of delegated democracy.
We should argue that it is their duty to ensure that we voters
do have ready access to such information as is necessary to form
an intelligent opinion. That, after all, is one main purpose of
Opposition Parties in our Parliamentary Democracy.
Most
important of all, such proceedings would rekindle in voters their
latent interest and obligation to cast their vote, knowing that
the candidate of their choice would be more likely to act in accordance
with their wishes. A much higher turnout in elections would be
the result.
Contact
your local Party Chairman. Gain his support for setting up public
forums in your constituency on these, as well as any other relevant
topics, well before the next General Election expected in 2005.
You should then, depending on the integrity of the candidate of
your choice, feel fairly certain that your view on any subject
being debated in Parliament will more accurately be reflected
by your representative in that assembly.
