Quote:
Originally Posted by dotti34
Why have political beliefs if you don’t vote and put them to use – now that’s irrational, doesn’t make sense to my reasonably rational mind.
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This will be the 12th general election since I have had the vote .
There were also two UK referendums , !973 and 2011 .
In the 1973 referendum I voted for the UK to leave the EEC .
In the 2011 referendum I voted against the proposed changes to the UK electoral system .
I voted for the Labour candidates in each of the 11 general elections prior to the forthcoming one .
I have reached a stage now where I have to be honest with myself and accept that my political beliefs are not represented by any of the candidates . And this has really been the case in all the general elections in which I have voted . I voted half-heartedly , but with a vague hope that things might turn out better than I suspected they would . There was also the negative sense of keeping the other lot out .
I remain a socialist . It isn't popular nowadays to be a socialist . Mrs Thatcher was successful in radically changing the political psyche of this nation . A materialistic individualism now holds sway throughout most of the political thinking in our country . It takes us back to the Roman poet Juvenal who in 100 A.D. wrote of the people being satisfied with "bread and circuses" . Just dole out goodies . That will keep the plebs quiet .
Unfortunately it's true . I never thought I would have lived to see the day when the British electorate would re-elect a government when going on for 4 000 000 people were unemployed . But they did in the 1980s .
So I was delighted on May 1997 when the voters kicked the Tories out after 18 years' of government . Though this was followed by "New Labour" . And to my shame I voted for New Labour at each election it won .
Anyway I don't believe I am being non-sensical or irrational if this time round I feel compelled to say to each of the candidates : " Sorry , but I can't vote for you . You don't represent what I believe . "