PR for national elections in the UK?

The normal political practise these days is to leak potential future government policy ideas to the MSM prior to it being discussed in formal channels. This leaking of policy ideas to a government friendly journalist presumably allows policy developers to obtain some feedback on a new (or more often rehashed) idea, and of course if it goes down badly with the public the story is easily denied.

Being a cynical citizen, I’d say this is cowardly policy making followed by people often out of touch with the demos. The latest rumour/policy story is ‘Proportional Representation’ (PR) for UK national elections.

“Lib Dems may be offered PR as part of power-sharing deal”

…”seen by senior cabinet ministers as a move to prepare Labour for power-sharing with the Liberal Democrats if there is a hung parliament after the next election.”

The arguments over PR have raged on and off for a long time, but it shows that some individuals inside the Labour government feel electorally weak, by even raising the idea of PR as this stage.

I believe that PR is a fairer system than first past the post as it gives greater representation to the people and of course more influence to (presently) smaller parties like the BNP. I hope they bring it in a.s.a.p.

Bring on a hung parliament!

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article3356203.ece

“Realist Party” isn't that the BNP?

From time to time I look in on the sky news discussion forums. I’m not a fan of sky (News International), but their news discussion board, does allow greater freedom for discussion especially compared the BBC's pathetic ‘have you say’, but only on subjects we permit approach.

The politics section occasionally has good discussions and two constant topics are the BNP and the Muslims/Islam etc. Now and again some interesting points will be made. The board does suffer a high level of trolls who whenever like minded people are engaged a respectful debate arrive with the name calling, insults and what I would describe as Marxist influenced mindset, which they may or may not be aware they have. But this aside, ideas are exchanged.

One recent thread encouraged people to post what their policies would be if they had their very own political party. Some were well conceived, but I saw most sense in poster ‘Panthos’ manifesto.

How many items on his list don’t make common sense? Maybe I’d change three or four but that’s it. As another poster comments:

waspish-

“Panthos this is an almost perfect manifesto can you give nick griffin a ring I’m sure he’d love it every bit as much as the working white indigenous minority will. magnificent, clear, consise and nowhere to hide.”

panthos-

“Email is on the way waspish, the people have spoken !”

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“Panthers “Realist Party” Manifesto:
Making a change for a better Britain.

1 Out of the EU and into good neighbour agreement to save £10 billion a year
2 End the new 8,5000 Quango’s under Labour costing industry £30 billion
3 Mine coal for power stations
4 Encourage mass production of electro-cars and passenger vehicles under British companies
5 Re-Nationalise Gas, electricity, postal services and telecommunications
6 Privatise the BBC
7 Remove all road cameras except in city centres
8 Replace traffic wardens with city wardens to pick up dog turds as part of their job
9 All hospitals to be accountable to regional health authorities
10 All police forces to be accountable to the Mayor
11 A Mayor to be elected in every ‘Borough’
12 Councils to be accountable to the Mayor
13 Mayors are accountable to the people through public forums of 1,000
14 Public forums are accountable to the people of their districts
15 An MP and an Independent Representative to be elected for every Borough
16 Independent Borough Representatives to be elected to upper chamber
17 MP’s to be accountable to the people by a legal duty to fulfill their manifesto
18 The Queen to appoint the Speaker in parliament
19 The Queen to appoint the speaker in the Lords
20 A Written Constitution to be drawn up within 5 years
21 All persons to be accountable in law to uphold the Constitution
22 Repeal the Human Rights Act
23 Bank of England to remain independent but Chancellor to be accountable for it’s decisions each month
24 Preserve our Gold Bullion and return what Brown gave away
25 Scrap VAT and replace with a 10% purchase tax on certain items
26 Replace car-tax with MOT and Insurance Disk and added fuel charge
27 Trade with Europe and the Commonwealth
28 Impose a Trade Barrier with all non-democratic regimes
29 1 year Work permits given to skilled workers and professional only
30 5 year Work permits automatically permit permanent residency providing no imprisonable offences have been the case
31 Citizenship may be granted after 10 years residency dependant on acceptance and an examination on The British Constitution has been passed including language.
32 Only Christian schools are permitted, pay for them yourself if not state school
33 Parents with kids at private school to get a grant for relieving the state of the burden
34 Family allowance to be means tested
35 Deport all none citizens to country of origin if failing to adhere to the above or if been imprisoned, grant of £5,000 to assist.
36 Refuse entry to ‘extended’ family members
37 Tax on fuel to rise annually in steps to encourage rail transport
38 Mag-Rail to replace main line rail
39 Prime Minister to be subject to 4 yearly fixed term of office
40 Mandatory election if PM changes
41 Foreign Office to engage an office of foreign trade brokers for the world
42 Drug companies to be nationalized and drugs to be given in aid to countries who need them. Costs of prescription to come in line to pay for the service and research.
43 Return Armed Forces to Britain to protect ports, airports and London
44 Ban foreign take-overs of companies and replace with trade licences, and ban tax leaving Britain.
45 Maximum limit on private money leaving Britain is £2 million
46 Ban socialism and all other extremists from the country
47 Make them go underground like rats, and give our army something worthwhile to do ferreting them out
48 Bring back the death penalty
49 MP's are subject to committees for what they say in parliament and may be suspended and fined and their party fined
50 Age of retirement is 60, Pensions to follow wage index
51 All public employees to adhere to contracts which include wage increases in line with inflation
52 Minimum wage retained but increased only in line with inflation
53 All unemployed physically capable of working to serve term of 3 months community warden work at minimum wage if unemployed longer than one year
54 Kick fakers off sick benefit (6 month checks), and make it an imprisonable offence to rob the state.”

http://messageboards.sky.com/ThreadView.aspx?ThreadId=8908

El Presidente!

The Times carried a story last week on Mr Blair and the ongoing rumour that he will be the first President of the EU.

“TONY BLAIR today fuelled further speculation that he will run for election as the European Union’s first full-time president later this year. Speaking in Paris this morning, the former prime minister called for a “strong and united Europe”, adding that members fail to deliver what their citizens want when they act as individual nations.”

If it turns out to be true, I’m sure we will all have to suffer the lying smile again, as it is beamed into every EU home during his version of the State of the E-Union speech. I wonder if any of the UK, sorry EU citizens will finally realise, this man, as with most establishment party politicians only ever care about themselves and power.

“The speech, delivered in French to members of the ruling centre-right UMP party, will be seen widely as Blair’s calling card for the new post of President of the European Council.

The post is to be created in the second half of 2008, with the appointment process to be overseen by France, during its leadership of the EU later this year.

French president Nicholas Sarkozy, who invited Blair to give the address, described the former British prime minister as “one of Europe’s greats”.”

Just how will this ‘man of the people’ obtain this grand position? Well, we know that by gold plating, every law to come out of Brussels during his watch he’s likely to be loved the EU elite and of course, his steering of the UK into the final Lisbon Treaty (without a referendum) proves his devotion to the EU project over the say of the UK people. If EU past practise is anything to go by than the election of the EU president will interesting affair, I’m surprised that there would even be an election, the EU machine prefers to appoint, popular vote not required.

Democracy in the UK at the national level isn’t perfect, it’s well over due for reform in particular a move to proportional representation (I’d opt for the Australian model myself), but that aside it still provides citizens real democratic power, to hold a government to account. Democracy within a looming EU super-state is simply democracy-lite, yes, you will get to vote for a Member of EU parliament by the PR system, but the power of this representative is limited, with virtually no power to hold the executive to account, this point illustrated by the ongoing saga of the EU annual accounts not signed-off by the EUs own auditors any year this century!

Any detailed examination of the key parts of legislation that has come down from Brussels over the years, shows how the command and control structures of the EU will act in deed and spirit. Some UK citizens will likely wake one day in late 2010 and begin to realised what they have lost as they feel the impacts of the centralised soviet-style (nu-soviet) government of the EU, which exists to rule its citizens rather than serve them, but don’t worry Tony will be smiling at you from the TV, so everything must be ok.

Use your vote wisely, vote BNP.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3177218.ece

Incapability Brown & my only new year’s resolution for 2008

I read the article in The Times today detailing the pro-EU activities of the British PM (Incapability Brown) and the French President via their high-level call to the Portuguese PM.

“A referendum on the controversial redrafted EU constitution was ruled out by Portugal yesterday after pressure from Gordon Brown and President Sarkozy.

The Prime Minister and Mr Sarkozy called José Sócrates, the Portuguese Prime Minister, to insist that a popular ballot was not necessary.”

I really can’t believe the actions of Incapability Brown, after worming his way out of delivering a referendum to the British people on what will ultimately prove to be the most important treaty in UK history, (not in the document itself), but because it will likely be seen by historians as the final turn of the key that locked the UK into the EU Federal state.

Now he has worked with his equally incapable French colleague, and apparently successfully to persuade the leader of another temporarily sovereign nation, from giving its people a democratic choice on the future direction their country takes.

So it looks like down to one of the Eastern EU counties maybe Poland to save us all?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3162632.ece

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My only new year resolution for 2008, is to keep doing what I’ve been doing for a few years now, when I became less interested in reading which football team beat another football team and more interested in politics and world events.

I make a point of regularly checking the Main Stream Media (MSM) news from at least four sources so I normally start with the BBC for news-lite, then check Sky news for news-OTT, and then a couple of newspaper sites normally The Times and The Independent, I’d also check The Guardian but it is such a depressing read I limit my exposure to it. I like to go these sites, to see what they don’t report as much what they do and how they report it. The injection of MSM news is then balanced with an broad scan around the internet and bloggersphere for the alternative news.

It’s a resolution I can keep (the first) and it keeps a person thinking….