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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£3
billion 'price of immigration' - By Benedict
Brogan, Whitehall Editor - Daily Mail, Jamnuary 28. 2005
The
cost of uncontrolled immigration into Britain has rocketed to
£3 billion, the equivalent of £140 a year for
every household, Michael Howard will warn today. The Tory leader
will intensify his drive to put the issue at the centre of the
General Election campaign by highlighting the financial burden
on taxpayers.
Signally that he wants to spark a public debate
on the subject, he will declare it is not racist to talk about
immigration. The Conservatives are privately delighted that their
policy to impose a quota for refugees and pull Britain out of
European agreements on asylum has struck a chord with the public.
They predict Labour will try to neutralise the issue when the
election is called by toughening its asylum policy.
Mr
Howard will say that councils have seen their budgets hit by the
spiralling bill for absorbing growing numbers of migrants and
asylum seekers. "We simply cannot ignore the scale of the
problem." He will insist in a speech in Kent, one of the
hardest-hit counties. "Kent County Council's asylum budget
was less that £250,000 in 1998. Last year it was £53
million. When Mr Blair took office local councils spent £13million
on asylum. That figure is now almost £400 million, a thirty=fold
increase. When you add in all the other spending, the figure comes
to £3 billion on asylum, that is the equivalent to almost
£140 per household in England."
Mr
Howard will add: "That is the price we are paying for a system
that is in chaos, overseen by a Prime Minister who has run out
of ideas about how to fix it,," Mr Howard will also tell
his audience. "The British people are decent, tolerant people.
They always have been willing to help those in genuine need. Tolerance
and respect of others run in the bloodstream of British values.
But many people now feel that their tolerance, their sense of
fair play and their desire to help others are being abused. For
too long, people have felt unable to talk about their proper and
legitimate concerns. Why? Because they are frightened they will
be accused of being racists. Well, I have a simple message: it's
not racist to talk about immigration and not racist to cricise
the system. And it's not racist to impose limits on immigration.
If we do not dare to debate the future of our immigration system,
let me tell you whom we are helping - the bigots who preach racial
hatred and the people-smugglers who profit from today's unfair
system."
Please
click one of the links above to cast your vote
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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.
