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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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
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CLASSROOM
CHAOS
'Tired,
totally beaten, frightened .. now I've quit' - Teachers
vent frustration at their constant battles in the classroom
- "There's mob rule in the corridors, and
gangs running riot. I gave detention to a child and that afternoon
I went out to find my tyres let down and a note saying the next
time my brakes would be cut " By
John Clarke - The Daily Telegraph, February 2, 2005
For
a flavour of the kind of disciplinary problems teachers face
every day, the best place to go is The Times Educational
Supplement's online chat room. The first group of quotes
highlights the resentment teachers feel about how little support
they receive.
"I'm
currently off work as I'm ill from stress and intimidation by
students which the head, who spends all her time in her office,
refused to do anything about. There's mob rule in the corridors
and gangs running riot. I gave a detention to a child whose
exclusion had been overruled and was called every name under
the sun. That afternoon, I went out to my car to find the tyres
let down and a note under the wiper saying that next time my
brakes would be cut.
"When
I qualified last year I was so full of enthusiasm and excitement.
Now I feel totally beaten - tired out and, quite frankly, scared.
I've handed my notice in. The behaviour of our pupils is appalling,
but the head teacher doesn't see it as her responsibility. All
she's interested in is preparing for an Ofsted inspection and
making sure everything looks pretty.
"One
of my pupils, who was expelled from another school, tried to
strangle a small girl at lunchtime. I marched him off to the
head, who criticised me for disturbing her. Isn't there something
wrong here? All that surprises me is that the head was actually
there and not at a conference."
"Today,
one of the children in my class cut off another's hair. I tried
to speak to the child's father when he came to collect him but
before I could say anything he shouted at me that I was a rubbish
teacher and couldn't control the class. I don't think I'll get
any support from the head because she likes to keep parents
on side."
"Our
head is rarely seen by the children. He's even been caught in
his office with the lights out to avoid a confrontation."
"Ours
gets his face splashed all over the press for turning around
the school and reducing exclusions whilst ignoring the chaos
in the class rooms. Yesterday, a 14-year-old pushed me in the
face when I challenged her for not wearing school uniform. Our
head refuses to exclude pupils, even if they hit a member of
staff."
Many
of the most common problems come under the heading of what Ruth
Kelly, Education Secretary, calls 'low-level disruption'. This
teacher speaks for many: "I'm having major problems with
some of my Key Stage 3 classes (pupils aged 12 to 14). In fact,
I'm not teaching them at all because I can't get them to shut
up long enough to set the task. When I ask them to be quiet
or not to do something, they just completely ignore me. Anybody
got any ideas?"
The
answers came rolling in: "Keep them standing until they're
silent and add the time you're kept waiting to their detention."
"Get
your classroom in rows no more than three deep."
"Make
boy/girl seating plans, greet them at the door and direct them
to their seats."
"Be
firm, but don't get into the habit of yelling - if you do, they've
won."
"Dress
formally, hold your head up high, don't smile, look at them
directly, pick them up on the slightest thing, let them know
who's boss."
Another
response was more robust. "I'd like to see them in orange
overalls like a chain gang, painting buildings, collecting litter,
cleaning graffiti, etc."
Design
is another common theme and so is disgust. "I'm a newly
qualified teacher. One class(of 14-year-olds) is particularly
horrible . I've tried so many strategies - keeping them behind,
detentions, praise, but I just want to give up."
"At
times it seems completely overwhelming. I come home totally
drained, staring at the wall and zoned out. I'm absolutely stunned
by the filthy language at the school I've just joined. I'm not
talking the odd kid - I'm talking 95% of the kids 95% of the
time. I rang a mother to tell her that her son had told me to
'*** off' and she seemed flabbergasted that I was informing
her of something so trivial."
Perhaps
most disturbing of all is the issue to which Miss Kelly made
no reference. "One day last week a seven-year-old in my
class who as Asperger's 'kicked off' nonstop from 9.20 to 3.50
- biting, punching, scratching, spitting, hissing, growling,
screaming, throwing, running at walls, trying to break glass
in door, etc. She's been excluded from two other schools, and
her parents were not even asked to come and collect her this
week, She's back in school. Can anyone explain that?"
"Yes,
I can. It's called inclusion, and Mr Blunkett thought it would
be a nice idea."
"Can
anyone offer suggestions on how to deal with the bizarre behaviour
of a 12-year-old with seven Asperger's? He gets very angry very
quickly and keeps shouting 'boring' and throwing things. He
can't interact with the other pupils. I'm a newly-qualified
teacher and could do with a bit of help."
"Do
a bit of research on Asperger's"
"I
disagree. I wouldn't research anything to do with extreme special
needs; I've never been trained for them. If we put up with this,
inclusion will be here to stay."
"Inclusion
is a ridiculous idea and it can only be a matter of time before
something happens to make Blair and Co see this is so."
This
is how one teacher summed it up: "We're desperately keen
to do the job to the best of our ability but we're prevented
from doing so by the growing number of badly behaved kids, parents
who not only don't support us but undermine us, senior management
too interested in filing bits of paper to back their staff,
and too many enforced changes to the curriculum."
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.
