Silent
Majority Speaks
Rescuing
Democracy in the United Kingdom from our current Elected Dictatorship
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You will
notice that, since New Labour came to power, not a single
leading Cabinet member or party 'heavy hitter' has appeared
on the programme (BBC's Question Time). 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
we mustn't blame the 60s
by
John Gascoigne of Doncaster, S. Yorks. in a letter to the Daily
Mail - July 22, 2004
I
strongly resent Tony Blair's suggestion that today's attitude
towards law and order is down to the liberal thinking of the Sixties.
I was a teenager then, and we respected the police and the
law.
We
still had a village bobby and woe betide any kid who stepped out
of line. We also had parents who weren't afraid to give you a
good hiding if you deserved it. Pubs shut at 11 pm (earlier on
Sundays), and the town was somewhere you went to go shopping,
(not to get plastered).
Now
we haven't got enough police in the right places - even major
police stations aren't open all the time, never mind having a
village bobby. We have almost round-the-clock opening hours for
pubs and towns are full of nightclubs.
Parents
dare not even castigate their children for fear of being accused
of child abuse. And, in schools, discipline is non-existent for
the same reason.
Tony
Blair should take a good look at his own part in all this, along
with his woolly-headed New Labour liberal thinkers. Nothing he does,
or says, now will make things better. These problems have less to
do with the Sixties and more to do with the past seven years.
Before
you vote please read Michael
Howard's challenge to Tony Blair in the House of Commons on
the day the Butler report was published, and the latest
news on John Scarlett. A devastating report by hugely respected
BBC Panorama journalist, John
Ware, raises new questions about No. 10 and the 'truth', which
are even more disturbing. Also read
Rifkind on Blair and a letter
from one of the normally silent majority in the United Kingdom.
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."
Blair's
defiance of the will of the majority of we, the people of the
UK, over the invasion of Iraq 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:
Here's
one to get Tony Blair to resign:
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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.
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.
If you have suggestions
for additional subjects, or material to include in the pages linked
to the subjects listed, please contact
the webmaster.
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