Does my vote have any value?

[Otis]

So here we are again, it's panto season for MPs.

I have become very disillusioned with our so called Democracy. It is very clear that Westminster has declined in all the standards and values we used to boast about to the rest of the world. MPs have given up any pretence of listening to the voices of voters. Our only contribution is to tick a box and give someone a ticket to board the gravy train. I can't remember a single issue on the Economy, Europe, War, or anything else where the voices of the public have been listened to or made the slightest difference to all those in power or caused them to change their minds on what THEY have already decided to do.

Like Europe they have the reins, the whips and the absolute power in their hands so they don't need to listen, take advice or care what we the public want. I think every party has at some time when they were seeking our approval promised to hold a referendum on this or that, then they have tossed their promises aside and carried on with THEIR agenda.

The nasty niff which has always hung around Westminster is no longer simply a niff, nor is it a smell or even a stink, it is now a stench which has tainted the "Mother of Parliaments" MPs no longer set or hold dear standards of morality and responsibility as we used to believe. They have also handed over too much power to Europe and Europe will never give it back no matter how badly managed or corrupt the state of the union. They do hold referenda as and when it suits, but woe betide anyone who fails to come up with the answer THEY expect. The referendum will have to be held again until the answer is the one the dictators are demanding. We need to remember that the EEC or whatever they are calling themselves now has never met the credible financial standards we would expect of even the smallest private company. When called to account for their discrepancies and failings they have removed the inquisitors or the goal posts. This is third world Dictators democracy which we see in action in many parts of the world. It is not a true democracy it does not resemble anything we in this country have been brought up to believe in and respect. I would expect MY ELECTED MPs to fight against any corruption not finance and support it. As an individual I would not join a band of muggers or scammers, why should we as a country.


Once I have put my cross on the form I am given I have served my purpose, and can again expect to be ignored and treated with contempt by those whose future I have just enriched beyond their wildest dreams. I may just as well write my name on a piece of paper at home and then set fire to it or flush it down the toilet, it will save me trailing out in the cold and have as much effect.

[StephB]

Ooh Otis! My doctor gets me some good pills when I get depressed, I call them my 'couldn't care less' pills! But my cure for it even at my age, [heart problems, Arthritis, Diabetis and all] is to GET ANGRY! And they have made me angry!
Someone in these columns quoted that poem which ends ..'and when they came for me, there was no-one left to defend me..' That's how I feel about the parlous state of politics at present, if I don't shout, and keep on shouting, I deserve the b'stards we will get as MPs!
When they stick their silly heads up, SHOOT!
I am awaiting the public meetings in the Colne Valley which will [should!] precede the election for Ms M's replacement. None of the candidates will find it a comfortable experience if I get my way.
It beats resignation, Otis, and defeats apathy, which inevitably results in DICTATORSHIP!
So yes, Otis, your voice and your vote can be made to count!
Tell your neighbours/friends that you're going to have a 'party' all of your own, by attending each and every circus tent these clowns erect which you can get to. Then Laugh at them. Boo them! Let them know what you expect of them...

[StephB]

Examiner, yesterday.

DAVID Cameron is coming to the Colne Valley constituency.
The Conservative leader, pictured, will hold a question and answer session in the area at 5.30pm on Thursday, March 11.

Of course the 'faithful' will already know just where this meeting is to take place. The rest of us can just drive around and hope to find it?

[Otis]

Apathy APATHY What's that then I can assure you I don't have it. I have spent too many years arguing in newspapers, pubs and at work for changes to revitalise the essential link between electors and elected. The gap has not been created by electors it is created by those in power who don't want the public to take too much interest in their selfish mad cap dictatorial rulings or draw attention to their stupidity, and subsequent mishandling of events. All politicians pay lip service to the idea of democracy, like the Emperors new clothes it gives them a cloak of respectability to hide behind and claim the moral high ground. It is this paying lip service while ignoring the substance of democracy and genuine public concerns which I believe has led the public down the road to apathy and lack of belief in our MPs.

The gap between what the public sees, believes in and above all else wants to preserve, the fabric of civilised society has been lost. We have seen MPs behave like the worst street criminals and hoodies, when challenged instead of standing up and being honest about their failures they bluster and try to cover up or excuse, like the worst street criminals and hoodies. This then pushes public respect even further down the road to contempt which in turn widens the gap between MPs and the public. If we don't call a halt to unacceptable standards in both public and private lives then as you say we deserve everything we get, but we have to start to change at the top, to be led by people who WILL set an example in morality, honesty and accountability to those further down the ladder. You cannot rule without respect. Respect unlike "street cred" has to be earned, it will take a lot of doing to repair the damage MPs have done, I don't believe that most of the MPs we now have can do this, they have thrown away their reputations and the good name of Parliament.

I started by asking "what is apathy." In my book, apathy is what self centred pompous dictatorial fools create from their ignorance and neglect of their duties and responsibilities to the people who have placed them in high office in the forlorn hope of moving forward together united as a Nation.

Now where's my Che Guevara hat. Man the Barricades. I'll give them Apathy. I'll start with that David Cameroon, if I can find out where he is?

[terriertoo]

Of course your vote has a value. In Kirklees its about £1200 on average. Nationally about as much as this governmant can get away with. Anyone for a peerage? Sorry Barry no freebie for you. You;ll be slung out of Commons soon. Never mind you are in the best pension scheme known to man. There's always consultancy work as well. Lets see you were good at greasing up to Tony Blair, not so good with Brown. I know you can give advice on how to brown nose to the right people and who not to. Thirty years an m.p. he knew thw value of your vote, £65000 a year plus £150000 expenses. Did he really need all that toilet paper? Of courese it was all the wiping of the brown nose.

[markmyword49]

Only if the swing needed to oust the sitting MP is less than 3%. It may be up to 5% if the prospective candidate isn't the old MP.

Mind you that might be overturned if Lord Belize can buy enough votes by targeting the most vulnerable seats by pouring millions into personalised letters from Cameron and glossy pamphlets that lack any input from the prospective Conservative candidate. By comparison the bumph received on recycled paper from the LibDems is amateur hour material. I cannot comment on the Labour literature because, thankfully, none has yet materialised. I did get a phone call from them which made me wonder where they got my details from as I'm signed up for the Telephone Preferance Service.