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Darby · 25-08-2004, 05:14

Hello JohnW,

That's a good question and one that can be answered in many ways. However, this is my humble opinion:
The current democratic system used throughout the world is no longer a sensible approach to humanity. Politicians of every side, are corrupt in one form or another. And they most certainly do not listed and react to the electorate.
The cost of being elected is financially so high that they either need millions of their own money or they have to "obtain" it from another source. That could be a political party, who in turn "obtain" their funding from various (and sometimes questionable sources). If a millionaire "gives to these parties, they expect something in return (well, nobody does something for nothing).
In short, the complete system needs changing. Politicians should not get the media publicity that they do, and they should also not get the visbility that they seem to need.
The "pollies" think that they must introduce legislation at every turn, TAX the working people beyond the pale, spend OUR money as THEY see fit, and create a world that THEY want. Practical aspects must be avoided as that only highlights the flaws in their policies.

I do not have a replacement "idea" in my pocket, I only know that this system is failing everybody and the majority has become the minority.
Not one politician can really claim to have been elected by a majority, as the average turn out at a general election is somewhere in the region of 60%, and a majority from the 60% C is not a majority from the 100% of electorate.

So much for democracy.

In Belgium, everybody must vote at a general election on pain of being given a stiff fine. I am not advocating that we have such a system, but it ensures that a true majority will be achieved. On the other hand, a deep thinking, educated person, may review each political parties manifesto, take considerable effort in understanding the options and make his/her vote accordingly. This however, can be negated simply by an "old dear" looking at a picture of a candidate and deciding "that he looks a nice man", and voting for him!!!
Returning to your original question, currently there is not one politician or political party in the UK, that is worth voting for. Most are bad, and the rest are very bad.
My personal method of highlighting this would be to campaign on the lines of: "if you don't like any of the candidates "Spoil your vote". If all those people who are fed-up with the politicians did so, the number of "spoiled" votes would then be so high that no political party could ignore them, and that would put the cat amongst the pidgeons.

A vote for any extremist does nothing to alter the situation. Look how the main political parties reacted to the success of the BNP in Burnley! It just showed the world that NuLabour and the Cons and Dems, cannot abide the democratic success of anybody else!!

They all need a shake-up!!

25-08-2004, 05:14	#20
Darby Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Albions End Posts: 691 Liked: 2 times Rep Power: 42	Re: What has happened to Britain? Hello JohnW, That's a good question and one that can be answered in many ways. However, this is my humble opinion: The current democratic system used throughout the world is no longer a sensible approach to humanity. Politicians of every side, are corrupt in one form or another. And they most certainly do not listed and react to the electorate. The cost of being elected is financially so high that they either need millions of their own money or they have to "obtain" it from another source. That could be a political party, who in turn "obtain" their funding from various (and sometimes questionable sources). If a millionaire "gives to these parties, they expect something in return (well, nobody does something for nothing). In short, the complete system needs changing. Politicians should not get the media publicity that they do, and they should also not get the visbility that they seem to need. The "pollies" think that they must introduce legislation at every turn, TAX the working people beyond the pale, spend OUR money as THEY see fit, and create a world that THEY want. Practical aspects must be avoided as that only highlights the flaws in their policies. I do not have a replacement "idea" in my pocket, I only know that this system is failing everybody and the majority has become the minority. Not one politician can really claim to have been elected by a majority, as the average turn out at a general election is somewhere in the region of 60%, and a majority from the 60% C is not a majority from the 100% of electorate. So much for democracy. In Belgium, everybody must vote at a general election on pain of being given a stiff fine. I am not advocating that we have such a system, but it ensures that a true majority will be achieved. On the other hand, a deep thinking, educated person, may review each political parties manifesto, take considerable effort in understanding the options and make his/her vote accordingly. This however, can be negated simply by an "old dear" looking at a picture of a candidate and deciding "that he looks a nice man", and voting for him!!! Returning to your original question, currently there is not one politician or political party in the UK, that is worth voting for. Most are bad, and the rest are very bad. My personal method of highlighting this would be to campaign on the lines of: "if you don't like any of the candidates "Spoil your vote". If all those people who are fed-up with the politicians did so, the number of "spoiled" votes would then be so high that no political party could ignore them, and that would put the cat amongst the pidgeons. A vote for any extremist does nothing to alter the situation. Look how the main political parties reacted to the success of the BNP in Burnley! It just showed the world that NuLabour and the Cons and Dems, cannot abide the democratic success of anybody else!! They all need a shake-up!!