Elections 6th May...

[TonyF]

Living in France - or the rest of Europe - we actually get to vote for 15 years after leaving the UK in the constituency we last lived in, assuming that you've registered that is.

J and I are registered, we're great believers that it's both a right and a duty to vote. As for who we vote for, as others have said no party actually fits our wants and needs exactly but having moved here from East London, we have our views about blocking the BNP vote.

And before people think that the UK elections don't mean anything to us, they do because the politicians there can effect our taxes, our pensions and many other financial elements of our retirement in the same way they they effect UK pensioners.
And the recent UK economic crisis has effected a lot of people in this area to the extent that some have had to sell up and move back to the UK, especially those dependant on income from their shares/buy to let empires etc who depended on those factors to fund their lives here, tho to be honest, as far as I'm concerned they took a gamble that didn't work out.

We don't get a vote in the French Presidential elections but we do get to vote in the Euro elections and municipal elections here tho it's likely that there will be a campaign after this election to get the European laws changed so 5 years residency (like health care and residential status) in another Euro country means you get a vote there.

[OverWyreGrower]

Our local MP's are actually a faurly decent bunch. We've had loads going on over proposed gas storage in salt caverns for about 3 or 4 years now and ALL the local MP's have supported the community, rather than the large company who are proposing it.

I'd like them to come and canvas us, as I'd like to ask questions too.

Can't be too hard on one of them though, he is married to someone I work with...

[Bigmallly]

The reason i asked for a election free zone is people fall out over politics when there is no need to.

I replied to this quote earlier in the thread, is there a good reason for its removal as I only stated that people do not need politics to fall out. If posts are to be removed willy nilly then I forefit my membership to the vine...

[TonyF]

Don't give a s***, we are run by Europe anyway.
The only way to save this country now is to get all our troops out of these meaningless wars and pay them to take our streets and inner cities back.

Take them back from whom? Isn't that what they did in Chile, Argentina, Burma (as was)?

[Janek]

It is rammed down our throats in Oz that Australia is a great democracy. But, I don't agree! There are so many rules and regulations that are foisted upon us, many of them against our will.

We are one of the few 'democratic' countries where voting is compulsory, with the legislation threatening imprisonment if we don't vote!

I tell everyone that we are not a true democracy here. If we were a true democracy we would not only have the right to vote but the right 'not to vote' if we so choose!

We, the voters have only one 'power' - to throw out an elected government and install another. We do not have the power to force any government to keep a single promise!

In the USA many states have 'people power'. If two thirds of registered voters sign a petition that matter must automatically be passed into law by the legislature. This has been floated Down Under from time to time with the pollies vigorously opposing it. They want to control all power over the people. Heaven forbid that their power would be lessened by the people having a say in how we are governed! Shock, horror!

Cheers.

Janek

[broadway]

Take them back from whom? Isn't that what they did in Chile, Argentina, Burma (as was)?

Hi Tony,

I feel this thread is getting a bit out of hand so this will be my last comment, I live in Tottenham, it can be rough with some no go areas, take them back (the streets) from the lawless mindless thugs who terrorise decent people.

[pigletwillie]

Its not getting out of hand Broadway, its called debate, differering views throw up differing problems and solutions.

Keeping the streets safe in the UK is a police job and here in Leicestershire, despite the amount we pay for police in the council tax going up, its axing several hundred jobs to save quite a few million.

And thats before any austerity cuts are implemented after the election.

[broadway]

Its not getting out of hand Broadway, its called debate, differering views throw up differing problems and solutions.

Fair enough but I don't want to say something I later regret, I don't want to offend

[susieq100]

I like the Australian system where voting is compulsory - it would certainly give our politicians something to think about - it might mean that there were no 'safe seats' any more! that is the biggest drawback to our current system - if you live in a 'safe seat' your vote is meaningless and then you are disenfranchised. Under our present system if there is no candidate that you like you could spoil your ballot paper by writing on it "None of these" - just to register your protest!

[pigletwillie]

Thats just as it should be Broadway, we all have differing views but on the vine we like to keep things nice.

[pigletwillie]

Here is one to think about, about 50% of seats have not changed hands for over 50 years, lets trim the amount of seats from the 650 odd it is now to say 500 and change the demographic of lots of those seats so they have a more equal spread of voters, making the MP's all a lot less complacent and less safe.

[bobleponge]

I have tried to refrain from further posting on here due to something personal, however I sort of agree with Suzieq. Not so much the compulsary voting, voting should be a democratic right, ergo you can choose not to, but in the fact that people become disenfranchised.
The nation as a whole has become more and more disenfranchised with the political system over the last 30 years, just take a look at voting figures over that period.
PW, I know you asked that we remained on UK politics, but if I may just quote a French example to reiterate my point:
Just recently the French had their ministerial elections, and the turn out was shocking, well under 50% I think. I listened to Martine Aubry giving her thanks to the people and explaining how the low turn out was showing Sarko's party that the people were fed up with him.
No it wasnt, it was the population showing that they are totally disenfranchised with the political system in general, exactly the same as in the UK.
Reading this thread is obviously going to represent how the general public are, as we are the general public. With a few hundred regular posters on the Vine and a good few hundred more occasional posters, there are only a few people who are actually posting on this thead in a political vein. There are some who are passionate, but the majority really couldnt give a flyer as they dont see that their vote will change much about the way things are for them.
The recent sleaze issue over expenses is just the latest in a long line of sleaze issues that tars politicians, the majority of them unfairly imho. Thats not the cause of the general malaise of disinterest, its the fact that "we" the general public feel that our vote is pointless, nothing will change. The 2 main political parties in the UK have morphed into being almost the same, having the same ideals, which would surely make politico's of a hundred years ago turn in their graves.
What needs to happen is for politics to become interesting again, for politicians to show us constantly, not just for the 6 weeks before a general election that actually "we" matter, that our thoughts and opinions are of interest to them. They are paid by us, and they are there to serve us, however it would certainly appear to me that the vast majority of them have forgotten this.

Oh, and BM, I also had a posting deleted, however I shant be resigning from this wonderful community, I shall just accept that this is a moderated site and the mods have the right to moderate. As I often agree with a lot of what you say, I would ask you to do the same.

[di]

As a fairly politically ignorant gal what I'd like to be hearing from the different parties is exactly what their proposals are....instead as per every election it seems that at least the two main parties are relying on slinging mud at their opponents in the vain hope that that will be enough for us to choses them.I don't want to vote for a party purely because there's less sleaze with them than the other

That said,regardless of the fact that there doesn't seem an awful lot separating the two obvious,there's one Party I sure as Hell don't want to see gaining any more power than they already have,for that reason my vote will be used and I would plead with anyone to do the same.

[pigletwillie]

Good points, it does get like a kiddies playground, rather than justify their own position its "look, they brought in the parsnip tax in 1746".

Pointless, insulting to me but a great way to get the word parsnip into the debate.

[di]

You'll be getting yourself deleted for that!