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
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
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He
pinged his waxen smile at the cameras - Quentin
Letts cringes at the Channel Five's Tony show - Daily Mail, February
17, 2005.
Love
me, love me, please, please, love me. That was the political message
from yesterday's day-long siege of Channel Five by Tony Blair.
This
was the Tony Show, the Try To Remember Why you Once voted For
This Man Special.
Voters
deserve better than this - Comment,
Daily Mail, February 17, 2005
It
was the day the wheels came off Tony Blair's carefully
choreographed election strategy, the day the stunts, spin
and vacuous 'pledges' came into crashing confrontation
with raw reality. And all it took as a brush with ordinary
people.
Of
course it wasn't meant to be like this. The wall-to-wall
coverage on Channel 5 yesterday was crafted by New Labour's
spinmeister Alastair Campbell to ensure the Prime
Minister avoided questions from hard-nosed Westminster
journalists
Little
did Mr Campbell imagine the fury Mr Blair would encounter
from the public. Take Maria Hutchings, who is appalled
over Iraq and distraught over the way her autistic son
'completely changed' after receiving the MMR vaccine.
All
she wants now for her little boy is the treatment he deserves.
But in words that will be echoed by millions she believes
'Middle England is impotent'.
And
she wasn't the only one who left Mr Blair floundering.
When he went on to 'answer' questions from a studio audience
last night he was put on the spot on everything from tax
to the NHS.
Real
questions, real passion, real anger - all this is a million
miles from Mr Blair's six vacuous verbless 'pledges' and
in stark contrast with the patronising and often frankly
nasty campaign he is running.
Vicious
personal attacks on Michael Howard ../ the sly anti-Semitism
of the 'flying pigs' and 'Fagin' posters ... Peter Mandelson's
silken threats to the BBC ... using the Freedom of Information
Act to dig dirt on the Tories while covering up its own
misdeeds ... this is how his party has chosen to conduct
itself.
The
truth is, Mr Blair's campaign is characterised by bankruptcy
of ideas, smear tactics and cynical stunts. Major issues
demand examination in this election. Are we getting value
for money from huge sums poured into the NHS? Why are
standards in education refusing to rise? Are tax increases
inevitable? Do we need fresh thinking on crime?
Mr
Blair's response? He issues meaningless 'pledges' that
insult intelligence and re-announces for the umpteenth
time a war on 'neighbours from hell'. This isn't proper
politics. This is all dress-up and no debate.
No
wonder the latest NOP poll suggests Britain is heading
for the lowest election turnout since 1918. If voters
stay stubbornly at home, it won't be because they don't
care, but because they despair of what politics has become.
Can anyone blame them
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The
Prime Minister took up residency throughout the day on the Cinderella
of Britain's terrestrial TV stations. He kept popping up between
adverts for insomnia cures and anti-constipation draughts, to
ping his waxen smile at floating voters.
It
nearly worked. It so nearly succeeded in portraying the war-wielding,
college fee-raising Mr Blair as a minty-breathed, earnest thoughtful
innocent. With the front of his fringe curled up like the toes
of a Turk's slipper, his voice alternating between mid-Atlantic
and Mockney, he tried hard to depict himself a reasonable geezer.
But
a pesky, real-life voter spoiled all that by breaking loose from
her studio seat. "Tony, that's rubbish!" cried Maria
Hutchings, 43, mum of an autistic schoolboy. And in that instance
the bold Mrs Hutchings proved that, when it comes to live television,
politicians are playing with flames.
Toothpaste
Tony had stepped on to the Birmingham set of Channel Five's Wright
Stuff show not long after breakfast. The show's presenter Matthew
Wright, by nature a cheery soul, had stuffed himself into a coat
and tie and was looking almost sick with nerves. Young Matthew
may be a stranger to certain broadcasting conventions which demand
political neutrality from talk-show hosts.,
At
the end of the programme he turned to Mr Blair and said: "It's
been an absolute thrill. Very impressive, too!" That lad
could go far in New Labour's Britain.
Throughout
the day Mr Blair answered questions from an eloquent selection
of voters. It was like watching a professional chess player take
on a long row of amateurs. By no means did he win all the contests,
but this won't have mattered. It would have made him look more
human and vulnerable - which is just what Labour knows all too
keenly, that he must do before election day.
We
are used to seeing Mr Blair avoid questions from seasoned TV interrogators,
but somehow it is more shocking when he does it to members of
the public. And they kept noticing.
"I
don't think I got a straight answer," said one woman. Join
the club, girl! Topics ranged from binge drinking to crime, classroom
sizes to taxes.
The
morning's orange set was set off nicely by Mr Blair's pink and
mauve shirt and tie combo. By the evening the backdrop was imperial
purple. After the morning session Mr Blair sped down to Milton
Keynes for Channel Five's noonday news bulletin, presented by
Sky TV regular Julie Etchingham.
Much
of Channel Five is now run by Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB. One hopes
Citizen Rupert is grateful. The bulletin opened with the PM standing
alongside presenter Julie. 'Good God,' I thought, 'he's even going
to read the headlines!'
It
wasn't quite that bad. Instead the PM was plonked down in front
of five more punters. When in trouble he kept saying 'y'know'.
Not all of the questioners were hugely impressed but at least
no one guffawed when the Prime Minister, talking about the Iraq
war,claimed that 'at least people don't think I lied about it.'.
Yes
they DO, chum. That's the whole problem.
After
a fourth burst of Mr Blair - live from his study at Downing Street,
for goodness sake - we had the studio finale with smokey-voiced,
fringe-licking Kirsty Young, ahem, a former dinner party guest
at Chequers.
A
bloke called Neil laid into Mr Blair over Iraq and left the PM's
defences looking like Nobby Stile's front teeth. A stodgy man
called Norman was polite but plaintive about Labour's tax raids.
And
with that, Channel Five's brave little venture came to a close.
Shrewd politics? Maybe. Unusual telly? Certainly.
On
behalf of the constipation cure peddlers, however, let's just
hope the ratings didn't go all loose and liquid.
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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
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
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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:
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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.
