I refuse to be anything but upbeat about the new coalition Government – despite all the doom-mongerers.
If “Carping from the Sidelines” was to be an Olympic Sport, the UK would be sure to win it. We are a nation of disgruntled grumblers – so carpe diem and put a smile on top of it.
On the basis we have a coalition no one definitively voted for but as a consequence of which policies voters for both parties did vote for (as far as a vote endorses all policy) are now being dropped or changed I can see a fair measure of legitimate exasperation.
Still more as you’re almost the official opposition now in the Lords, with Lab in a mess, you’re going to have to do more opposition heavy lifting than any previous XB grouping!
But becoming conscientious voters n’est-ce pas
if the voting turnout is to be accepted.
I am upbeat too. Little as I prefer, oligarchy ruling over democracy, good new graces have arrived in these tiny islands!
Our peoples’ disgruntlement is because Britain is a deeply entrenched One-Party Top-Down State, posing as a Democracy, and failing to see that Enablement of the People must precede their Empowerment.
Alternative ? We laugh at the Political Farce.
Coalition ? Really ? I though Nick Clegg was running the Country now and we`d obviously dropped the number of MP`s so only 51 was needed as a majority !
Well I look forward to the reformed HoL and the rule of the $, exactly as the USA. The diminishment of fair and just rule, of Justice and British fair play.
I`ve listened to Clegg and his power to the people clap trap and it`s nonesense. His party had the coalition in the HoL that is leading to a censored internet AND I might add still the power to cut off people`s service.
The proposed reform of the HoL will only lead to disastrous consequences, where people become ruled and sentenced by industry and it`s finances and the only people intelligent enough to see it are those who will be replaced. Dictatorships are often started by replacing any challengers it may have.
Capring from the sidelins ? That`s my job ! What`s yours ?
“that is leading to a censored internet”
Andrew Neil describes this parliament as being the realm of “single issue nutters”, or words to that effect, since there are no blanket party policies available.
Coalition ? Really ? I though Nick Clegg was running the Country now and we`d obviously dropped the number of MP`s so only 51 was needed as a majority !
Well I look forward to the reformed HoL and the rule of the $, exactly as the USA. The diminishment of fair and just rule, of Justice and British fair play.
I`ve listened to Clegg and his power to the people clap trap and it`s nonesense. His party had the coalition in the HoL that is leading to a censored internet AND I might add still the power to cut off people`s service.
The proposed reform of the HoL will only lead to disastrous consequences, where people become ruled and sentenced by industry and it`s finances and the only people intelligent enough to see it are those who will be replaced. Dictatorships are often started by replacing any challengers it may have.
Capring from the sidelines ? That`s my job ! What`s yours ?
A fair point, but let us be honest that a degree of healthy scepticism about the PR spin operation coming from the Cleggerons does not equate to cynicism or carping.
Or should we turn a blind eye to evidence of differences of opinion or disagreements ‘for the sake of the children’ ?
Actually what I had more in mind was the insistent efforts of the media to drive hundreds of cigarette papers between the coalition spokespersons. It is I know, and welcome, their job critically to expose policy differences but this is often done disproportionately?
Croft – on the XBs being the ‘more or less’ opposition – remember that the crossbenches almost ALWAYS split their votes (or abstain).
“To expose policy differences but this is often done disproportionately?”
Disproportionately, in what context ? These differences in policy exist or they don`t exist. Are you stating the media are making too much of the differences ?
In a democratic mind if one had supported the Conservative manifesto and voted with that, or LD for that matter, then find actually all policies at least watered down if not binned then you`d have to be upset.
The differences in policies obviously matter to the electorate, if they did not then surely that would be apathy which before the election was a worrying matter.
The proportion of differences either exist or they do not, let`s blame the press for putting in the public eye actual differences, sounds a lot like carping to me.
Wouldn`t it be marvelous to find the Con and LD parties were actually very close if not together on all policies but then….Sorry why did I vote Con and not LD ? Oh yeah the policies were proportionately if not totally different.
Perfectly true but this is the ‘new politics’ (can we have a swear jar fining system every time someone uses that word!) With the effective opposition in both houses reduced the XB split is going to become massively more important and XB peers need to realise this!
“XB split is going to become massively more important”
If the X bench split decides nearly every vote there is not much need for party any way,so the party affiliation of new arrivals is very nearly irrelevant.
How about a physically redesigned chamber to reflect it?
While I share your concern that we are “a nation of disgruntled grumblers” it is not without good reason. We have been badly let down by the political classes who seem to be ignoring or giving small attention to the main issues of EU Supremacy, uncontrolled immigration and a debt that is gigantic and almost out of control.
I’m with Bedd Gelert where he says that ” a degree of healthy scepticism about the PR spin operation coming from the Cleggerons does not equate to cynicism or carping.“
Carl.H said “… if one had supported the Conservative manifesto and voted with that, or LD for that matter, then find actually all policies at least watered down if not binned then you`d have to be upset.”
I would say not just upset but angry at what some see as deception and lies. The electorate are just used to get the political elite back in power, or so it seems. After that, their views are all but discarded for 5 years.
Whatever happened to integrity? I’ve just attended a business seminar where some great leaders were talking about the importance of integrity in their lives and hence in their business success. How do we bring integrity back into the political sphere? It is very important.
Alfred,
Integrity in City financial business only means how much they earn; nothing to do with honesty at all; quite the contrary.
“political classes who seem to be ignoring or giving small attention to the main issues of EU Supremacy”,
It is one thing to say that these islands are only 1/30th of the membership of the EU, but Quite another to say that they comprise more than one eighth of its population.
British people’s interest in the EU is the strength of the 1/30th, and their involvement
the same measure as the UK population.
One of the Today broadcasters effectively described Election day as a
“Celebration of Democracy”, which it is.
It is probably worth more than Poppy day or
Red Nose day, or even May Day, but after that parliament is supposed to get on with the democracy itself… for five years.
Gabbing and Voting is a very special skill.
Gareth, I am in complete agreement. This isn’t carping – this is just stating facts that seem to be being ignored by the political elite, but are making listening people really angry. Yes, we can work better, if we work together, but do we have to be under the Supreme Government of the EU over which we have no voting power except over the ineffectual toy parliament in Brussels?
Maybe the introduction of the EU Banking Tax, will wake some up, remembering that 80% of EU transactions are carried out in the city of London. So who will pay 80% of this tax? Answers to George Osborne, on a postcard.
Alfred, Gareth, et al;
Voting is ‘dumb’ anyway !
What we need (and not merely ‘desire’)is serious published two-way communication (however condensed)between the individual-citizen and ‘The Top’or ‘The Media’ continually i.e. all-in-all continuously between elections and other times of voting.
Please do think seriously about this essential for a true and sustainworthy democracy; and refer please to Barber’s ‘Strong Democracy’ pages 121 “To be political…is to have to choose…under the worst possible circumstances…” and 307 “A Strong Democratic [Egalitarian] Program For The [Re]Vitalisation of Citizenship”.
Democracy never yet achieved anything more democratic than a top-down agenda’d Two-Party State; yet we have the schooling, the numbers, the e-technology to burgeon as a citizen-integrating Democratisational Movement.
Otherwise I foresee increasing un-sustainworthiness, ironically from top-to-bottom rather than, as our common-miond would expect, from bottom-to-top.
What say you, I ask you kindly, please ?
John, “serious published two-way communication” is almost here, just that it is published on the internet. People are moving away from the paper media as it has become almost a ‘cut ‘n paste’ printing system with very little “serious published two-way communication.
Sadly, it seems to be making little impact on the “top-to-bottom .. un-sustainworthiness” as you put it.
Alfred;
Your response is very encouraging, that serious two-way civic/parliamentary matter communication [and if I might add some detail qua problem-clarification and then into or towards win-win-win cooperative problem-solving]is in-progress via the internet; thank you.
Sustainworthiness-wise, reducing the britannica-sized paper-press, especialy on the Lord’s Day, must surely be greatly overdue for saving-Earth’s-lifesupports (trees/vegetation)and for reducing the industrial-pollution caused by too many and too wasteful chainsaw workforces, smoky-factories, and over-laden freight-trains, not to mention overloaded household green-bins ?
A propos top-down un-sustainworthiness, the few hundred-thousand pounds of Parliamentarians’ ‘snouts-in-the-trough’ public-disgrace was too coincidental with the bankers’ privately-siphoning-off millions and altogether billions to their ‘private’ pockets to have much impact at any level (except perhaps on the Enquiry and Media businesses).
Historically, that parliamentary over-claiming now looks like a highly-timely ‘smoke-screen’ cover for those greater billions and millions being ’embezzled’ not only by thousands of high-management bankers and company-directors incidentally but by millions of employees right down through Britain’s many ‘pay-levels’.
This has been a long comment, and one essential clarification needs to be given:
Person A succeeding at living healthily, happily and citizenlike off £200 per week can be said to be personally-efficient at making ends meet (in the 75% pay-spending timeframe, not necessarily in the 25% timeframe of workplace ‘self-selling’ and ‘being paid’);
Sub-conclusion #1: Person B ‘having-to-have’ twice that per week is only 50% personally-efficient;
Sub-conclusion #2: Person B is twice as destructive of Earth’s common-lifesupports as is Person A;
Sub-conclusion #3: Person B is only half as sustainworthy as Person B.
My mind boggles quite out of its depth when I try to continue this scrutiny upwards to such public-examples as The Hon RBS and many tens-of-thousands of high-rolling Britons also drawing huge numbers of weekly livings from the common-purse whilst holding their supportive human-populations and lifesupports-environments to ransom under threat of removing their indispensable high expertises and their fiscally-fat bank-rolls to some other country such as Lierra-Seone, well-away from the United Kingdom, where as a cartel they could literally buy the government and lord it over any other power including mafia-gangs, warlords, al kyedas and tallybans
I do appreciate your Lords-of-the-Blog’s positively constructive resilience in not only seriously considering the above kind of unskilled citizen’s submissions, but in daring to publish them verbatim as well.
With deepest respects,
“Civis” (John Miles).