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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Why
should Gordon Brown believe anything that Tony Blair says
when no one else does - Letter to Mail
on Sunday, January 23, 2005, from Vic Croft, Westcliff-on-Sea,
Essex.
Some
pledges, Tony
Here
are the six General Election pledges Labour might like
to adopt:
1.
No more lying.
2.
No more dodgy donations.
3.
No more freebees.
4.
No more cronies.
5.
No more spin.
6.
No more Blair.
Steve Willis, Bristol. Mail, Feb 16, 2005
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Grasping,
Greedy, Untrustworthy
Stephen
Glover on that £100,000 free flight and Cherie's £60
goody bag for charity
Daily
Mail - January 11, 2005
Of
all the things Gordon Brown is supposed to have said to Tony Blair,
the one that lingers in the mind has to do with the Prime Minister's
low regard for the truth.
"There
is nothing you could ever say to me now that I could ever believe."
He
could have hardly said a more damning thing about his leader.
It is what many people in this country feel, particularly after
the lies we were told about Iraq. It is what some of us have been
writing and saying about Mr Blair for years. Now, so it would
appear, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has reached the same conclusion.
Some
may object that we do not know for certain that he said it, but
no one in Government has denied that he did. Robert Peston, author
of the book which contains the withering quote, is a highly reputable
journalist. I think we can be sure Mr brown said what has been
attributed to him.
Blair's
fantasy world
I
can't agree with Stephen Glover that Tony Blair is a dishonest
man. Grasping and greedy he may be, but he isn't a liar-
he's a fantasist who believes what he says.
He
fantasised publicly about watching Jacky Milburn playing
football at St James Park when he would have been too
young. He fantasised about running away from school and
sneaking on to a Bahamas-bound plane.
He
fantasised about sleeping rough in London, about saving
a drowning man and, recently about Iraq having WMD What
he fantasises about in private, we cannot know, but he
believes, or wants to believe, what he is saying.
The
question is not so much whether he can be trusted to run
the country, but whether he's fit to run the country.
George
Egleton, Lymington, HANTS - Daily Mail, January 14, 2005
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Explosive
Of
course, it was uttered at a time of explosive tension last July
after Mr Blair had withdrawn an offer to stand down in favour
of Mr Brown. In calmer moments, the Chancellor might believe the
Prime Minister if he said the Earth was round or the sun was hot
or even that a General Election is likely to take place this year.
But I doubt very much that he has altered his general view of
Mr Blair's untrustworthiness.
Mr
Blair is not, I think, an honest man. I don't mean that he goes
around the place purposely lying. Like all the best - and most
deadly - liars, he believes his own deceptions because he is convinced
of his own inner moral infallibility. He persuaded himself at
the time of the September 2002 dossier that Saddam Hussein did
present a great danger and was prepared for the evidence to be
amplified and extended to substantiate a threat which he thought
was real.
Similarly,
I am sure that when he told Mr Brown that he intended to stand
down because he believed he had lost the trust of the British
people, he meant what he said. Probably he was afflicted by self-pity,
and saw himself as the victim of some grotesque unfairness. But
when he saw that the Tories under Michael Howard were not making
the headway he had expected and that his own goose was not cooked
after all, he broke his word to the Chancellor.
For
all his charm and talent and likeability, Mr Blair is not to be
trusted. We knew that; now Gordon Brown does. At his core, he
is not an honest man.
The
latest example of his moral slipperiness is his use of an aircraft
from the Queen's Flight to transport himself, his family and his
retinue to Egypt for his famous winter break. Much criticism has
been made of his refusal to return early after the devastating
tsunami. Mr Blair could probably have made little difference personally
by cutting short his holiday, but many people would have respected
his sacrifice had he done so. Even more than staying in the sun
at such a time, his manner of getting there and coming back was
indefensible.
The
cost of using the Royal aircraft - crew, fuel, wear and tear,
servicing and so on - for the 12-hour return flight may be almost
£100,000. The previous year, the Blair family flew to the
same resort in a charter plane at their own expense. The use of
an official aircraft for private purposes has been defended by
Downing street on various grounds.
First
it was said that Mr Blair has been advised to use the RAF for
security reasons. But this was the fourth year running that the
Blairs have been to Sharm-el-Sheikh at this time of year, and
if security really was an issue, they could have gone somewhere
else for a change rather than cost the taxpayer nearly £100,000.
Downing
Street appears to be grasping at excuses, and I doubt whether
security was a powerful consideration. Nor do I find convincing
the alternative explanation that because Mr Blair held a few meetings
with foreign dignitaries, the use of an official aircraft was
justifiable. By the way, Mr Blair's token contribution towards
the cost of the flight will be minuscule.
Admittedly
the leaders of many other countries would think nothing of acting
as Mr Blair has done. President Robert Mugabe seizes one of Air
Zimbabwe's few jets whenever he wants to travel abroad, leaving
passengers high and dry. But our tradition in this country is
that prime minister's should not live off the state. With his
love of luxury, Mr Blair has won a reputation for freeloading
off friends and acquaintances,. Now he expects us to chip in.
Contrived
This
is an increasingly out-of-touch and high-living Tony Blair, who
lingers in Sharm-el-Sheikh when he should return, and commandeers
an official plane for private purposes. This same Mr Blair thinks
nothing of inviting friends and acquaintances to Chequers - mostly
showbiz people who cannot make the slightest contribution to the
better governance of Britain - and entertaining them at public
expense.
But
the court of the Blairs has not entirely forgotten the little
people. Last Friday, Cherie Blair's advisers alerted a hand-picked
television camera crew and a press photographer that she was paying
a visit to a Save the Children shop in Clapham. Laden with four
bags stuffed with her children's cast-offs, she was pictured playing
Lady Bountiful. The revoltingly contrived message was: we may
have been in Egypt when the tsunami happened, but we do care.
In
fact, as every fortunate family knows, the unloading of unused
and unwanted items to charity shops is no sacrifice. It clears
out cupboards. Cherie Blair's four bags full were expected to
fetch £60. For that, she sought the attention of the nation's
media.
Showy
This
may seem a small and unimportant story, but somehow it tells us
everything that is ghastly about the Blairs. They spend nearly
£100,000 of taxpayers' money on their holiday in Egypt,
where, incidentally, they stayed in a hotel's new villa on what
are thought to have been extremely favourable terms. And then
Cherie offloads some old family rubbish, not quietly and modestly
as any of us might do, but in a showy, look-at-me way, seeking
our approbation even though no sacrifice whatsoever was involved.
What
people. If Tony and Cherie Blair ever had a scrupulous moral sense,
they appear to have lost it long ago. They are evidently so cut
off from ordinary living and good advice, that they no longer
understand how they appear: grasping, greedy and untrustworthy.
If
Gordon Brown ever becomes Prime Minister, I expect he will drive
us mad. He is vain, paranoid, neurotic and still full of undying
socialist beliefs which, if applied, might lead us to disaster.
But the man who says he will never believe another thing that
Tony Blair says is, himself, as straight as any politician can
be. He does not want to live high on the hog at the expense of
acquaintances or the State. No one can predict how this bitter
struggle between the two of them will end, but I pray that the
honest man will win.
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.
