Rescuing
Democracy in the United Kingdom from our current Elected
Dictatorship
|
Come
back Gilligan, all is forgiven. Penny Young, Diss, Norfolk,
to The Guardian, February 24, 2005
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
Power
cut, please
Labour's
pollsters have Tony Blair running scared, because they have
informed him that if turnout at the next election is below
50%, the result will be a hung parliament. This would be
good news for those of us who, viewing the damage inflicted
by recent governments, would like nothing better than a
Parliament powerless to do anything. Letter from Ron
Phillips, London W14 - Daily Mail 17/2/05
|
Tony
Blair's pledge cards made no mention of pensioners. Perhaps
they're the jokers.
Letter
to the Daily Mail from Brian Green, Daventry, Northants
- February 22, 2005
The
Guardian's Polly Toynbee says 'a profoundly nasty streak'
among voters worried about poverty, crime and immigration
might cause them to vote against the Government. Isn't
it time we replaced the present electorate with one more
to Polly's liking? Ephraim Hardcastle, Daily Mail,
February 24, 2005
Back
to the future
'Forward
not Back' is quite wrong: we must go back - back to clean
hospitals with more medical staff and fewer managers;
back to education with proven standards.
Back
to police on the street and solving crime; back to increased
employment in industry, back to ministers who stand up
for this country and back to democratic government. Then,
perhaps, we can move forward. Letter from S, M. Butler,
Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex - Daily Mail, March 23, 2005
|
Gipsies?
It's
your problem England
8,000
head this way as Irish crack down - EXCLUSIVE
By Michael Knapp (in Dublin) and Tim Shipman Sunday Express -
March 27, 2005
A
leading Irish politician last night summed up the Gipsy crisis
facing our towns and villages with the prophetic words: "Sorry
England, but it's your problem now."
The
Sunday Express can reveal that an exodus of 8,000 Irish travellers
is already under way, triggered by new zero-tolerance Gipsy laws
aimed at ridding Ireland of the problem. The army of Gipsies,
many with criminal convictions, are escaping the draconian regime
across the sea to exploit Britain's lax and liberal planning laws
and begin new itinerant lives here.
Mrs
Olivia Mitchell, a rising star in Irish politics, said she could
not understand why Tony Blair has not followed her country's example.
And she warned that Middle Englanders now face being 'trampled
on'.
Last
night the Tories rallied to her battle cry and said Britain must
follow the iron fish Irish initiative or suffer the consequences.
Mrs Mitchell spearheaded laws which have made it illegal to set
up camps, effectively giving the travellers nowhere to stay.
Last
night, speaking from her constituency in Dublin Sth, Mrs Mitchell
told the Sunday Express: "It used to be an Irish problem,
but now it's an English one. We're sorry, England, but it's your
problem now." She added: "It would appear that England
is suffering from our legislation. Maybe someone should say sorry
for that, but I don't think anyone will. I'm actually amazed that
the English have not looked at what we've done and done exactly
the same. People say it's anti-traveller, bordering on ethnic
cleansing - but of course it's not. It was simply a case of the
settled community saying we had rights too - and we were fed up
with getting trampled on."
Tough
new trespass laws in the Irish Republic mean police now have much
greater powers to move Gipsies on from illegal sites and confiscate
their caravan homes - and they are using them.
Mrs
Mitchell, the transport spokeswoman for the opposition, Fine Gael
Party, initiated the controversial new legislation after a massive
summer camp sprang up in her constituency. Many of the travellers
had smart caravans and were in business as salvagers, roofers
or drive layers. They littered the public parkland site with enormous
piles of debris.
She
said: "A lot of them appeared to have good incomes. Despite
that, they weren't paying any rent or rates and they were taking
business away from local people. They were basically blackmailing
us because they knew it would be very difficult for us to get
them out. Since the law changed, it's much better. Last year was
the first in 20 that they didn't show up."
Shadow
Home Secretary David Davis endorsed the remarks. He told the Sunday
Express: "It's precisely because other countries have pursued
these tough laws that we have to - unless we want the lives of
many people made miserable because of widespread abuse of their
rights. What no responsible British Government should do is sit
on their hands, like this one does, while other countries act
to cure the problem and effectively export it to us."
Today
the Sunday Express can reveal that as many as a third of Ireland's
population of itinerants is now considering emigrating to the
UK to escape the legislation. Britain has already seen a considerable
rise in the number of Irish travellers arriving over the past
three to four years. The total is currently reckoned to be about
15,000. One Irish traveller, a 22-year-old unemployed mother-of-two,
said: "A lot of people are going to go - and it's not surprising.
Everybody in the travelling community knows that in England they
give you a house in a week - if you want one."
Ireland's
Housing Provision Act was passed as long ago as 2002 - but only
fully came into effect last year. It criminalises the act of trespass
on any piece of property, and has led to court cases involving
confiscation, fines and possible imprisonment for up to a month.
Around 20 caravans have been impounded so far, making their occupants
homeless.
The
Irish Garda and local authorities have also taken steps to prevent
Gipsies from camping in lay-bys - by surrounding them with huge
boulders. There are also claims that the authorities are attempting
to drive travellers away by declining to help with refuse clearance.
Finian
McGrath, an independent Irish MP who has campaigned for Gipsies,
said: "This legislation is driving around a third of them
out on the road again and they are wandering around the country.
For many, their preferred option will now be to leave Ireland
and head for England and Wales. There is a major crisis going
on in Ireland's traveller community right now. Thousands of children
are not in education, and there are enormous welfare problems.
There is a lot of anger coming out."
Martin
Collins, of the Dublin-based traveller support group Pavee Point,
said: "There are around 25,000 of us in Ireland and every
one has been criminalised and disadvantaged. That's going to make
these people leave for England."
|
Perhaps
Ann Widdecombe was right about Michael Howard, but it
should have been KNIGHT with a K, and he could have saved
us from the monsters Blair and Campbell - Letter to
the Dail Mayil from Les Fletcher, Rhos-on-Sea, Colwyn
Bay, Wales - February 18, 2005
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
Hold
the front page
Further
to BBC bias (Mail), very often on BBC Breakfast and Breakfast
With Frost, coverage of the morning papers is censored.
If the front page of the Daily Mail is critical of Tony
Blair and his Soviet-style Government, it is not shown,
although the front pages of all the other newspapers are
shown. A supposedly independent broadcasting body is acting
as censor for this Government - an absolute disgrace.
Letter from Peter Fish, Chippenham, Wilts. .- Daily Mail,
February 17, 2005
|
The
REAL NASTY PARTY- How
Labour is the true home of spite, bigotry and contempt for the
public
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:
|
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:
|
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.
