badgerx16

( from ) Lancashire

people

Green

Bridge, under the current system my vote will have no effect on which member is elected from my constituency, there are too many willing to vote for the donkey with the blue ribbon. Nonetheless, I will vote - not sure yet which of the three options open to me I will take, ( that is assuming there is a Green candidate to consider ). Under a PR system I would at least feel like my vote had a chance.

treads

stickers

Portland

I don't have an answer, I just hold the opinion that the current 'first past the post' system has created the monster we see today - 5 of the last 6 Parliaments have been run by parties elected by, at most, 43% of the electorate yet having majorities of over 60, ( Maggie 144 & 102; Blair 179 167 & 66 ). In 1983 the Tories got 42% of the vote and 61% of the seats at Westminster. In 1987 it was 42% votes & 58% seats, and in 1992 42% of the vote gained 51% of the seats. When Bliar won in 1997 he gained 63% of the seats with only 43% of the vote, in 2001 it was 40% of votes & 62% of seats, and the last time New Labour won 55% of seats with only 35% of the vote ! And remember, this is the percentage of votes cast, not of the electorate as a whole, voter turnout at the last 2 elections was 59.4% and 61.4%. The biggest turnout since 1974 was 77.7% for the election John Major won in 1992. PR may not be perfect, but it HAS to be fairer than this.

Oh, come on Bridge, anybody with any principles wouldn't want to get anywhere near Westminster. The constituency candidate lists are stage managed from party central offices, if you get elected you are nailed into line by the Whips, and any real power in the majority party is vested in a minority cabal around the PM, the full cabinet are cowed into submission by fear of reshuffles; and backbenchers are just cannon fodder, only valued when they have to troop through the lobbies in support of unpopular legislation. They are despised by the civil servants they work with. As for the electorate; 35% won't turn out, they will find something better to do, like bath the dog or watch paint dry. 40% will already know how they are voting based on party allegiance - they probably won't even read the candidate's name on the ballot paper, let alone learn what they look like. 10% will vote negatively, finding reasons NOT to support one party or another, 7% will vote the way their daily paper tells them, 6% will vote for the party that they think will make them better off, and the remainder will vote for a fringe party or spoil their ballot. As Churchill said "Democracy is the worst form of Government,- until you consider the alternatives".

Wirral

All the candidates are self-serving egotists, who have only two intentions - to better themselves at the public's expense, and play power games with our money and our future.

Formby

blues

liver ( salts )

waltz

bogeyman

Why not extend it to include the option of 'independence' for Cornwall, as a celtic outpost, or resurrect the historical early medieval Saxon and Danish kingdoms ? Why should the rest of England, particularly those parts more than 200 miles from London, be dominated by the South-East ? Alternatively, and more realistically, why does everything have to be subject to 'balkanisation' ? Why try to over-emphasise local differences and play down common interests ? The more you try to partition things up, the more distrust and conflict arises. We didn't have an English Empire, we had a British Empire. It is much better that the United Kingdom is a member of the EU, than four self interested and far smaller, ( and therefore less politically and economically significant ), regional identities. How many Olympic medals would each region get in isolation ? Together we amount to something, separately we are much diminished, especially ( ironically ) Scotland and Wales. I am proud to be able to claim I am a Hampshire man, yet at the same time I am a Lancastrian. Even more so I am English and British, a citizen of Europe, and most importantly, a Human Being; part of a population of about 6 billion similar, unique, individuals who should be learning to get on better with each other.

Guv

Styx

Erebus

Java

And a manager that fans of many clubs wouldn't give house room to.

Best line from last night, as the Dr was asking for some more food to try ; "You're scottish, fry something".

gratis

( David ) Essex