"Enough is enough, Mr Cameron!"
That is the front page headline in today's Daily Mail and they printed it in the largest possible font size as a heading on page one which is taken up entirely by a single story - a poll on immigration in which the Tories actually poll lower than Labour when it comes to trustworthiness on immigration. So far, so Daily Mail-ish, you might think but I wonder whether it presages a move by the Mail which could be hugely damaging to the Tories. Perhaps they are winding themselves up (in line with the sage advise dispensed by this blog!) to ditch the Tories at next year's Euro election and instead throw their weight behind UKIP. The Mail is only second to the Sun in circulation and given their past record the Sun, too, is capable of dropping the Tories. From January onwards we are likely to see a huge influx of Romanians and Bulgarians and both these big circulation papers can be relied upon to whip up a never-ending storm on the subject. If they were both to urge support for UKIP will there be even a single Tory in the European parliament? And if that is the outcome, how hot and sweaty is your local Tory MP going to be as he or she contemplates the general election in 2015?
As much as I like Nigel Farage's straight talking and some of UKIP's policies over that of the Conservatives and do indeed want to see them triumph in the EU elections I would not want them to organize my piss up in a brewery as their abilities, knowledge and experience leave a lot to be desired. To me they are a party that in many ways support the current satus quo which is daily becoming more dysfunctional as we see politics and politicians increasing destroying and corrupting, themselves, democracy, society and the economy. If I had the influence and support which I do not have I would like parliament who took away power from monarchs take it away from them and give it to where it should reside with the people. I would do this by starting a political party with the sole aim of eventually dissolving itself. Odd thing to say yes, correct but revolutionary I hope. The aim of this party would be first to divorce government from parliament. Next to abolish politicians and political parties from parliament and dump them on the heaps of vested interests and causes which heap good or bad will be entirely up to the people. The only power I would leave them with is the opportunity to influence but never to dictate. Then every constituency would elect a constituency representative who would be brain dead as far as politics is concerned and would sit in parliament to hold governments to account, only expressing the concerns and wishes of their constituents and voting both yes and no in proportion to the votes cast by the constituents as debating and voting would be at constituency level all votes counting being taken forward to parliament and the yes and no votes added up.
Posted by: Antisthenes | Friday, 22 November 2013 at 19:17
Cameron wants Turkey to join. Now that is threatening to the human race and the history of civilisation. They will come in their tens of thousands and with the mad mullahs.
Posted by: Glesga | Friday, 22 November 2013 at 20:03
I read somewhere (this blog?) that turkey might be backing out. Good. It just doesn't seem like Europe.
Posted by: Dom | Friday, 22 November 2013 at 23:06
'Antis', it's too early for me to comment in detail on your 'revolutionary' programme! Suffice to say that 'over there' they have separation of powers between legislators and the executive but there system stumblebums along much as ours does.
Jimmy and Dom, if there was ever a time to invite Turkey into the EU it is certainly not now as their government lurches towards Islamism.
Posted by: David Duff | Saturday, 23 November 2013 at 08:26
DD. I agree that having separation of executive and legislators is in it's current form is not working much better than the UK system. That is because it is politicians who are holding politicians to account and the result is that the whole political system becomes a cosy exclusive club where at the end of the day it is more about wheeling and dealing and keeping the people out and the politicians in. If we are going to have politicians at all then they should only be in the executive and if possible or at least eventually not even there. Democracy has to go the full circle back to it's roots where citizens congregated in the agora (today the internet and meeting halls) and debated and voted where the people had direct power. My idea is a modern version of the ancient Greek version except women would this time be included. We have the technology and communications structure that now makes direct representation by the people possible instead of having to rely on a bunch of dead beat, pocket lining and power hungry middlemen.
Posted by: Antisthenes | Saturday, 23 November 2013 at 14:57
We're seeing damned little of that 'Separation of Powers' thing these days, when Soetero can just rewrite his Abominacare in a way that he believes will further enhance his power, which was the very damned reason he rammed it through Congress in the first place. There was always a bit of interference from members of Congress, called "constituent services" of course. Still, the Federal juggernaut lumbered on, and if it was doing more than we wanted, at least it was doing it fairly well. Now, sigh...
Posted by: Michael Adams | Saturday, 23 November 2013 at 17:36
'Antis', you are right to point out that we are ruled by a professional, political class but, alas, politics is, or should be, professional. My complaint is that too few politicians are even barely competent. However, you only have to look at the amateurs in UKIP to get an idea of what a shambles an amateur government would be - mind you, I'll still vote for them at the next Euro election! Anyway, always remind yourself that in a democracy we get the government we deserve.
Posted by: David Duff | Sunday, 24 November 2013 at 09:07