Rescuing
Democracy in the United Kingdom from our current Elected
Dictatorship
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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
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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
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4%
this year ... but council tax will soar in 2006
By
Steve Doughty - Social Affairs Correspondent, Daily Mail, March
1, 2005
Householders
will face a 4% council tax rise next month - but with the threat
of a much bigger increase next year, local government accountants
warned yesterday. Their forecast rise for this year would be the
lowest since 1994, even though it would be three times the inflation
rate and would take benchmark Band D bill to £1,214, or
£100 a month.
But
the relative modesty of the increase is due mainly to the fact
that Chancellor Gordon Brown handed councils a one-off payment
of £1 billion last December, a move condemned by opponents
as an election bribe designed entirely to keep council tax rises
down.
Experts
at the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy(CIPFA)
said the hike will be much higher next year unless the Treasury
repeats the bail out operation. Local authority chiefs have already
predicted double-figure rises next year unless the Government
hands over £1.5 billion.
Yesterday
CIPFA chief executive Steve Freer said: "Prospects for next
year rely heavily on future decisions about Government support.
This year's budgets rely heavily upon the special one-off funding
announced by the Chancellor in December. If that funding is not
repeated in 2006/7 we could see the return of higher increases
next year."
If
the 4% forecast is right, council tax will have risen by 76% across
Britain since Labour came to power in 1997. In England alone,
the figure will be close to 90%.
CIPFA
predictions, based on a survey of more than four out of ten local
authorities, are regarded as highly reliable. They follow the
Daily Mail's projections in January, which said that rises would
be below 5% and that average bills would touch £1000.
CIFPA
said councils had clearly been influenced by Government threats
to cap their spending. "Increases are generally about 2%
lower than those seen last year," it said. "The variation
between councils is also less marked."
The
CIFPA figures suggest an average bill in England and Wales will
rise to £996.44 a year. However, for owners of homes in
the benchmark Band D, bills will top £1200.
Most
people live in homes smaller than those covered by Band D, which
applies to houses valued at between £68,001 and £88,000
at the last rating assessment in 1991. The 4% rise compares with
an inflation rate which, on the Government's preferred calculations
method which excludes mortgages, stands at 1.6%.
But
there is no sign of help in store for the South of England, which
in recent years has faced increases massively higher than in the
North. CIFPA says Band D bills will go up by 4.5% in the North
East and Yorkshire, 4.3% in the south East, and 4.2% in the South
West. London bills will go up by 3.7%.
One
other factor that has helped councils keep bills down is that,
with only three exceptions, police authorities across the country
have contained their demands to 5% or less. In past years - when
there has been no general election looming - police authorities
that are themselves unelected have repeatedly imposed double-figure
rises as part of their claim from the council tax.
Tory
local government spokesman Caroline Spelman said: "This latest
research shows that hardworking families and pensioners will be
forced to pay over £100 a month in council tax under Mr
Blair. People across the country have been punished with council
tax rises of 76% since 1997, and council tax is just one of the
66 stealth tax rises Labour have piled on. Mr Blair promised he
had no plans to increase tax at all. Regardless of Labour's attempts
to limit council tax rises in an election year there can be no
doubt Labour will continue to drive up council tax bills in any
third term."
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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
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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.
