Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

'Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents'

Now, where do you think that quote came from?
If you are struggling, I will tell you(maybe you have not yet had the missive from our representative at the P.O.W.)....it came from the election leaflet sent out by Graham Jones MP.

Wouldn't it be good if our representative reflected the wishes of the constituents......those folk who put their X in his box the last time round.
Those folk (or 95% of them) who do not know enough about the EU(or anything to do with politics it seems)......so that he thought he could make the decisions for us.

Having read this leaflet I thought it was just a bit ironic.


Well, this time around he can whistle for my vote!

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

Have to say it does need too, But fails miserably.:rolleyes:

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

But coming from the person saying it....Don't you think it is a bit rich?

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

Yes yes but mr jones helped screw us out of a referendum merely weeks after been elected so a long time has passed now so we have to stop looking back and stop been negative


if it wasnt for graham jones that manhole cover that has sat outside my mothers house the past 30 years may not be here today..

cant wait until afte rteh election i need to speak to him about abduction of traffic cones

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

There can be no doubt that he considers his career before the wishes of his constituents and his conscience.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

Perhaps he thinks he's a born again second world war Prime Minister.

"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."
Winston Churchill

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

He should be so lucky.
I think that things have moved on a bit since Churchill spoke to voters.

It does not do to let those who you want to vote for you, believe that you think they fell out of the stupid tree(and hit every branch on the way down).
If (as a politician) you do think that, then you keep it to yourself........why would you alienate those whose vote will keep you in a very fine lifestyle?

A lot of the political disenchantment does not hinge on the fact that people do not understand politics(in the broadest sense), but that those who are in politics, see themselves above the voters.
Well, that and the fact that voting seems to change very little as the parties all seem much of a muchness.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

Having seen Tony Blair boosting the election campaign for the Labour Party, I now know where GJ got his ideas from?
It seems that TB thinks none of us are capable of deciding what is good for the country.
Is this democracy then?
Just an illusion of democracy.
And why would anyone trust TB ever again.....he is the very worst type of Champagne socialist....only in it for what he can get out of it.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

It seems to me the way Blair acts, is he simply lining his wifes pocket? Keep it in the family.:rolleyes:

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

TB - he lied to the people and to parliament over the WMD in Iraq and thereby led us into an illegal war. He became the Middle East Peace Envoy and now the ME is in far more turmoil than before he stepped into the post. If GJ agrees with him then that is one more reason why I won't be voting for him.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

Perhaps cos 95% of us are too thick to remember?

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

Or perhaps because 95% of us just weren't smart enough to work in a high tech factory?

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

Maybe Parliament already reflects the people it represents.;)

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

How can this be so Eric...the politicians do not listen to the electorate.

Those things which have worried the electorate for a long time have not been addressed by any of the parties.(porous borders,the EU, foreign aid, the economy,the crisis in the NHS, the corrupt banking system, tax avoidance etc)
Have any of the representatives been knocking on my door.....No, they have not. We are expected to be placated by stage managed TV debates, which make the leader of the parties seem like celebrities, or X factor contestants.
I do not give a flying fig for the personality of those in the debate. It isn't a personality contest....what I really want to know is, has the person asking me to vote for their party got the cojones to take decisive action where action is needed?
Can they be relied upon to listen to the wishes of those who put them in to power?
Will they tackle the thorny issue of child abuse that seems to be at the heart of Westminster(even if it is historic _ there needs to be transparency).
Can I trust what I am being told...or are they all going to be like TB and take the patrician view that they know what is best?(and they will do that regardless of what the electorate think)

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

the only time polititions mention the NHS is at election time

the rest of the time they whisper about it as they sell it off bit by bit especially labour who proclaim to be the saviour of the NHS

i knew someone who sold to the NHS and the NHS paid a lot more for the item they purchased than what they would if they bought the very same item from the same supplier on ebay

a lot of people get very rich selling to the NHS in ways they should not

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

You're getting it all wrong!

Parliament does reflect the people it represents. MP's and Lords are people aren't they?

Our modern Parliament exists to represent and look after the needs of its people. Think what a massive task- ensuring reasonable salaries, superb pensions, subsidised meals and drinks, expenses for everything from a duck house to a full renovation of a very necessary town house(for which Parliament pays the mortgage interest so it can be sold at a massive profit having cost the owner nothing).
It's there to help its people get directorships, consultancies, big fees for half hour speeches(plus free food and booze).
Etc. Etc. Etc.

People complain about zero hours contracts but some of Parliaments people work zero hours(or close to it), you don't hear them complain!

Parliament has to reflect and look after the needs of its 650 MPs and 783 Lords- that's a hell of a job. It really doesn't leave much time for it to worry about the other 66 million of us.

I think it does a really good job! Well, it does if your one of its people.
Otherwise- tough!

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

Yes, Gordon.....it really only represents those who are in parliament.
It represents their desires and aims really well......but have I got this all wrong?
Isn't it the constituents that these people are employed by(not the political parties)?
Don't we pay them heartily for a job they do, with not our best interest in mind, but theirs?
After all, you never see politicians leave parliament destitute.....they leave far richer than when they went in....And they(likeTB) get richer still as a result of contacts they have made whilst in our employ, and deals they have been fortunate enough to be able to cut for themselves.
Nice work if you can get it!

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

As you can no doubt tell, I am somewhat jaded with the whole shebang.
Nevertheless, I await someone door stepping me so that I can ask some very pertinent questions.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

That's not what I meant ... you are talking about how politicians follow the wishes of those who electe them ... the statement "Parliament ... represents" doesn't seem to have much to do with that.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

i also await the doorsteppers

iv got a sign saying no cold callers and want to see if it is effective

im pretty sure it not only covers people peddaling crap but also people shovelling it

had them at my womans house and they will say almost anything to make you think they are worth voting for but as shown in recent times what is said before an election is quickly forgotten or dismissed after an election

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

One politician I have a lot of respect for is Andy Burnham for his help to the families of the victims of the Hillsborough disaster.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

That quote about what Parliament represents was taken from the election leaflet sent out by Graham Jones......and I agree that parliament in the current state reflects nothing about the electorate.......so it seemed to be ironic that our local sitting MP was trying to bamboozle us into thinking that WE were at the heart of his aims.....his only desire is to progress up the Labour Party ladder and do whatever his party bids him to do.
I thought he was better than that....but we all know that you live and learn.I won't be voting for him again this time around.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

How long ago was it? What action did Labour take under Blair & Brown?

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

You know how long ago it was, and I'm not talking about Blair, Brown or the Labour Party, but Andy Burnham, whose support was appreciated by the families of the Hillsborough disaster.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

I never have nor ever will vote,their just puppets controlled by multi national corps.
Those who do vote are not only harming themselves but everyone else too.
I urge you all not to vote :)

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

Ooh, that's a strong statement! Well I will be voting, but I am concerned that I will be harming everyone else. In what way?

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

By introducing their policies which in turn effect everyone.Voting to keep these puppets in power (whichever party you vote for) changes next to nothing (same BS different face).
There’s nothing wrong with being ignorant about how the elite control politics, or with forming your political beliefs thorough irrational thought processes......so long as you don’t vote :p

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

Gosh, thanks for that. Being ignorant and having irrational thought processes, I clearly need to seek professional help from a psychiatrist.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

It must be correct cos accyex knows everything, let me know the rates the psychiatrist charges.:D

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

Instead of posting rubbish why not explain how you are going to change anything at all by not voting?

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

iv got a suggestion but i think they upgraded security since guy fawkes had a go at making a change :)

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

It's only "rubbish" to those blinded by the illusion ;)

Take a moment (before voting) to have a read of this:-

You've Got to Stop Voting - by Mark E. Smith | FUBAR AND GRILL

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

other countries simply sling corrupt governments into the street or in some cases execute them

i think were a long way off that happening

but fingers crossed like

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

I got bored when I read the bit about SOuth Africa. I'm not convinced the country is better now than it was

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

I have been there quite a number of times over the last 25 years or so, and have family in Cape Town. Most things have deteriorated, electricity brown and black outs, Post Offices with only one person on the counter instead of the five or six as it used to be, gun fire between taxi/bus operators, rising crime, water shortages, crime escalated, nowhere near as pleasant a country as it was 15 years or so ago

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

Hmm! ‘forming political beliefs thorough irrational thought processes......so long as you don’t vote’. What a strange statement to make, AccyX. 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. I did read the link you provided and to be honest the more I read the more I realised WHY we have to have a government.

If you don’t wish to vote that’s your prerogative (unlike here in Australia where it is compulsory – though easy enough to waste your vote if you so wish) but if you choose not to vote then you really forgo your right to complain when things are not going to your liking. By not voting you might not have put ‘them’ in but you didn’t keep them out either. Be thankful that you have the right to vote.

However much you are disillusioned by politicians once they are in and their promises have gone down the gurgler with the bath water (and trust me, it’s the same here – sadly it seems par for the course, almost expected to happen) realistically you have to accept that there has to be, and is going to be, a government. The only thing to do is vote for the best person, keep the pressure on them to represent their constituency as they promised, and at least you know you have done your bit.

Maybe you think that by not voting you have forcefully expressed your disapproval with the whole kit and caboodle and this gives you some sort of self-satisfaction, but I hate to have to tell you this – your non-voting really doesn’t mean a thing to anyone else. I purposely ruined my voting paper once – wrote ‘none worth voting for’ across it and felt really pleased with myself for all of five minutes, then on the way home I realised how stupid that had been, it had made me feel good for a short while but nobody else would give a damn about what I had written. It certainly didn’t make any difference to the mob that got in. Actually, from a personal point-of-view, when I thought about the suffragettes who had suffered so much to get women the vote I felt ashamed of myself.

So, like it or lump it we have to have a Government. Suggestion – why not put yourself up for election and if successful then make a difference. It would be interesting to see how long it took before you also ‘joined the club’.

As for irrational thought processes, well….

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

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 . "

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

The non voters (I am one) consider that a vote is consent for the party with 'majority' to form government. When 'none of the above' is truly the way you feel about the parties, but you do not have the scope to say so, then you are tacitly agreeing to whatever they inflict on the population. You are being asked to choose which way you want to be misgoverned.

Consent of the governed | Define Consent of the governed at Dictionary.com

Consent of the governed - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

like JCB I cannot vote for parties which do not reflect my core values.
I am not apathetic, I am not lazy. I go to the polling station........and I am compelled to write 'none of the above' on my ballot paper.

To vote for a party that will govern with the least harm is not what a democracy is about(it seems to me that politics is becoming more like a personality contest than a search to find someone who can lead the country...who cares what the wives of the politicians look like, or what their kitchens are like...it is all tosh)...and in any case the speech recently by Tony Blair confirms that we do not really have a democracy......just the illusion of one.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

I know where you're coming from, Margaret, Margaret and JCB, I have had my fair share of political disillusionment as well, but what's the answer? It can't be left in limbo. What's the alternative?

Do you make a protest vote by voting for an alternative party (assuming that there is one - I'm not sure how things are in the U.K. these days) or do you protest by not voting?

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

I was intending to vote for n alternative party, but as we go away on 20th April for near 1 month,i just aint gonna bother.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

it depends Dotti.
A protest vote is no better than spoiling your paper......the more parties there are to vote for the more dilute the parliament will be.
Yes I appreciate that we have to be governed...but for goodness sake is there not a party out there that can tell the truth, a party that will credit us with enough sense to be able to handle the realities of the necessary decisions which have to be taken.

The bottom line is that they all say one thing and do another......they are all career politicians with very few of the top politicians ever having worked in the real world...the world where if you don't graft then you do without.......the world where sometimes your choices are limited by what is in the purse.

I do not trust any of them with something as precious as my vote.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

Been reading the thread with interest, vote, don't vote, protest vote, we can only go with what our hearts tell us is right, unfortunately those representing us have no heart otherwise they would act in a way that suits the majority and not themselves.
Every vote no matter which party always seems to put a selfish beggar and his pals in control of the trough.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

I don't want to get into a political debate (the seem to get kind of repetitive) so my input here is done,I've said my peice, not that it will ever happen but the answer could be self governance (peace,love and logic) But that because I'm a hippy at heart...


.... to be honest I don't have the answers and don't believe anyone does.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

Seems like politicians are the same everywhere. Parties make outlandish promises to get in and then feeble excuses as to why these promises can’t be fulfilled once they are in. What amazes me is that there are still some gullible people who actually believe them in the first place.

Unless they have been there and done that how can they know how the majority live, what their needs are, and unfortunately once they become pollies they don’t seem to care.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

May not be the answer, but pointing in the right direction would be compulsory voting, Bolicticians that promise something then renege face criminal proceedings & jail time (that'd hopefully keep them honest in their claims & possibly truly focused) performance related pay, do well & they earn, screw up & they're punished, just like everyone else. oh & ban career politicians, all applicants must've done a proper job for 10/15 years prior to representing the populace. (How else would they understand the true hardships of life if they've not lived through it themselves)

Mind you, these are just some of my passing thoughts though. :)

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

I agree with most of that son.....all except the compulsory voting.
After all the people who govern us can abstain from voting on issues of conscience so it follows that the electorate should be able to abstain.

If voting were made compulsory then surely the vote would not be secret....your vote could be traced or your non vote could be traced.
I continue to go along to the polling station....I peruse the candidates and vote for the person who I feel will do the best for the area. I take no account of which party banner or colours they travel under....just what they promise for our area.
I voted for our current incumbent, thinking....working man, knows the area, knows what we need to make the place better.
Really got that one wrong as he dances to the tune played by the Labour Party masters, with an eye to furthering a political career.

So come the 7th of May I will take myself down to Mercer house, look at the candidates(none of whom have been anywhere near my doorstep) and mull over who can best represent the needs of our town.
If necessary I will spoil my ballot rather than vote for someone who does not fit the bill....because you can be damn sure if they don't fit the bill at the start of their time in office, they sure as damnation won't be made to fit the bill while in office.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

Compulsory votes would still be secret as to who you voted for.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

I know this has nothing to do with your Parliament but thought it might be of interest. It’s on the subject of protest votes and how you have to be careful what you are aiming to prove. It can turn out worse than before.

This is what has happened here. At the last election for our Senate – which in Australia is the place where policies formed by the government are given the final yea or nay – people were feeling so let down by previous parties that some made their vote a protest one and voted for members of a newly-formed alternative party, probably thinking they would be the only ones voting for them. Made them feel good themselves but wouldn’t do any harm generally, just might send a message to the major parties. The ones they voted for couldn’t possibly get in. Right? WRONG!

We have a voting system which is based on preferential votes – and don’t ask me to explain the way it works as I wouldn’t have a clue. I’ve lived here 57 years and I still don’t fully understand it. We are told it’s the fairest voting system but I have serious doubts about that.

Because of the way this preferential voting works the protest vote backfired somewhat and six members of the new party with only a very small percentage of votes were elected to the Senate. I know, it’s crazy. These included a man who represented the Australian Motoring Enthusiasts Party, a woman who during a radio interview said her preference in a man is that he is rich and has a package between his legs, then asked a 22-year-old caller if he was well hung (a real class act!) – also warned our Prime Minister that she was after his job, told him he should eat cement and toughen up and called him a psychopath. Four other misfits (to my way of thinking) whose platform only represented a small number of people were also voted in.

What a shambles. If it weren’t so serious it would be hilarious. Five of the six have since left the Party they belonged to but are still in the Senate as Independents, and of course continue to get their huge salaries and all the perks that go with the job.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

So how would they know you had not voted....especially if you went to the polling station and gave your number in?

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

Mmm, I see your point.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

[QUOTE=dotti34;1138651]I know this has nothing to do with your Parliament but thought it might be of interest. It’s on the subject of protest votes and how you have to be careful what you are aiming to prove. It can turn out worse than before.

This is what has happened here. At the last election for our Senate – which in Australia is the place where policies formed by the government are given the final yea or nay – people were feeling so let down by previous parties that some made their vote a protest one and voted for members of a newly-formed alternative party, probably thinking they would be the only ones voting for them. Made them feel good themselves but wouldn’t do any harm generally. The ones they voted for couldn’t possibly get in, but it would maybe send a message to the major parties. Right? WRONG!

We have a voting system which is based on preferential votes – and don’t ask me to explain the way it works as I wouldn’t have a clue. I’ve lived here 57 years and I still don’t fully understand it.

I think you have something like proportional representation.
It is a fairer system than the 'first past the post' system.
Over here we can have a government voted in by a minority......what I mean by that is that the party that gets in may only have been voted for by 33% of the electorate.
This is because the more parties there are to vote for, the less of a share of the votes are given to the conventional parties.
So you are right, protest voting doesn't work.....it dilutes the ability of governments to do what they say in their manifesto's because it makes it unlikely that a single party will hold the power.
This means that we may continue to have coalition governments for many years to come.
The really scary prospect is that some party will jump into bed with the SNP party and then the tail will be wagging the dog.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

Talking of governments, I often wonder how a P.M. or a Premier chooses the Ministers that make up the Front Bench, what criteria is used. There was a Minister for Road Safety in the South Australian Government who after 47 days in office was forced to apologise for his unacceptable driving record which listed 58 traffic offences and over $10,000 in fines.

He resigned that portfolio after all this came to light.

He is now the State Treasurer!!!!!

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

Whilst protest voting may not work. i reckon if enough people vote a certain protest party, it may well scare enough of those who can do summat, into actually doing it? its better to me than letting em in fer same old,same old.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

The problem is Cashy they are all the same old same old.
dipping their snouts in the trough with little thought for the electorate.....I know this is a very cynical and jaundiced approach but it is how I see it.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

I was just wondering with people going on about Westminster ,protest votes etc. What would the alternative be minority parties forcing more unpopular policies with making deals uncertainty's with policy which would probably cost jobs .

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

Once the minority parties are in place and linked to government there is little you can do especially with fixed term parliaments.
A lot of damage can be inflicted in five years if policies are badly thought through...or not thought through at all.
The minority parties have little/no experience in governing...goodness knows the two major parties have messed up often enough.

It always seems as though once a party is in opposition they know all the answers to the problems that beset the country, but once in power they fail to do anything at all about the problems they professed they knew how to fix.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

Sure it could be, The voting station has a nominal role of all the constituents & an equal amount of voting papers which are numbered & assigned to that district. On presenting yourself, you're checked off on the list & you take or are given a paper at random from the pile so that the only person aware of the papers number is you.

You then wander off to the corner, put your tick/cross in the box for the the relevant candidate or not as the case may be as there would also be an extra box for the disgruntled/disillusioned stating "None of the above planks thank you!" easy! ;)

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

I believe Germany & Ireland have the same sort of practice, a multi choice type of approach which helps to balance things out in the house of the self serving. :)

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

there is always a reason why governments break election promises

the reason is its all the previous governments fault

same goes for councils as well

individual let downs by MPs are usually through arse kissing , desiring promotion/ career benefit or blatant disrespect for its constituents.Hell if your lucky you may get an insult thrown in as well depending on security of the particular MPs seat

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

We've had a few insults thrown our way does this mean our M.P. thinks his seat is safe? I'd vote for him again if only he did something such as keep promises put us before his party and put us before his career.
If he thinks towing the party line will do his constituents any good he is as sadly wrong as me considering winning AccyWeb's most popular member poll, I may think I deserve it but it needs more effort than I'll waste, I just hope he puts more into being worthy of a vote than he gets paid for it.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

Less, I wouldn't waste that hope.

Re: Parliament needs to reflect the people it represents.
 

im not saying labour are secure around here but i saw a rose sticking out of a pile of manure at the cemetery rose garden and people started canvasing for it