Reform
May 16, 2009 12:00 AM
By David Chappell in Bury Free Press
By David Chappell in Bury Free Press
Our once world renowned parliament,once known as the Mother of All Parliaments, is now creaking and it's MP's suffering the dementia of old age and 'forgetting' their mortgages have been paid, or if they have a mortgage at all! The daily roll call of outrageous expense claims not only shames them, but shames the country. It shames us that we have elected such rogues.
Reform is needed, root and branch reform, not just of the system but of the political process that has resulted in generations of ping pong politics between the previously dominant, but now failing 'two party system'. Latest polls show the Labour party and Conservative party have 28% and 22% support and yet the first past the post electoral system sustains them in political power. Not least because disillusioned voters stay at home rather than go to the ballot box to vote them out. There are other parties. There are nearly 20 of them fighting the European Elections.
All it takes to bring about change is marking an X on your ballot paper. It really does not take long to vote, but the price of not voting is paid when your Tax bill arrives on your doorstep; or is deducted from your payslip; or your children's school is threatened with closure; or the local Day Centre closes down; and you cannot find an NHS dentist.
Make our votes count. If you the candidate you prefer is not elected, your vote should be transferred to your second choice, until one candidate has at least 50% support! We need voting reform! We need a hung parliament, and hung councils, so elected representatives have to argue and win support from others for the policies they want to adopt. Too many of your Councillors sit on their hands waiting for their party whip to tell them how to vote, sign for their allowance and expenses and then go home.
We need Parliaments like Councils to have fixed terms. So the 'ruling party' cannot pick and choose when to 'go to the country' and 'spin' between elections is less important than getting the policy right first time. Hung parliaments and Councils take power away from Nr 10, the Treasury, Council Leaders and the civil servants manipulating the party in power. Hung parliaments and Councils return power to the elected representatives.
Perhaps we should insist on our MP's having ten year's work experience before getting elected and we might have more MP's like Vince Cable!
I am tired as a Councillor of seeing shoddily prepared documents presented to Council Committees and being told we must vote on them because there is a deadline coming up! When we vote on such documents we effectively approve the incompetence contained within them. It is time for a change, staying at home on voting day will not bring about change. We must hold our politicians too account for their actions!
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