For the first time in my adult life (I think) I may decide not to vote.
We live in what used to be a 'safe' constituency for Labour, so much so that in national elections it was reserved for absentee-landlord stooges like the former deputy leader of the Parliamentary party. Naturally they made no effort to canvass...
... until a boundary redrawing took place. We then got a LibDem for one term - an arrogant Europhile who spent the best part of two years resisting my attempts to get him to put a question in Parliament about making NS&I Index-Linked Savings Certificates available again - and see how topical that is now!
Tomorrow, in the local elections, the choice will be LibDem or Lab (Con are defeated before they start and haven't even bothered to push a leaflet through the door.)
As far as I can tell, the LibDems say one thing locally and another nationally e.g. on housing policy.
Labour under Sir Keir Starmer appears to have ditched Corbynites and the working person's socialism, and their idea of Opposition to agree with the Tories (to the point of not even insisting on a vote when the draconian Covid regulations were up for renewal) but say they'd have done even worse things even sooner. Oh, and make a fuss about Downing Street lockdown cake and champers at a time when their own mouths were full of beer and curry.
In short, the LibDems are all things to all men and Labour nothing to anybody. As for the Conservatives, I have yet to see what they have conserved in this country.
By voting I would only be validating a system that doesn't represent me or I think most people.
Are we approaching a crisis of political legitimation?
5 comments:
JD comments:
If you go to vote and if you happen to see any of the candidates, ask them this question and see if they can answer it -
"As I have grown older, a nagging thought has bothered me. During my sixty-six years of life I have heard people, in moments of crisis, cry out: It's all right! Here comes the doctor..... or the surgeon, the midwife, the police, the fire brigade, the rescue squad, the paramedics, the priest, or even the plumber. But in all those years, during dire emergencies in peace and war, I have never once heard the words. Thank God, the Politician has arrived!"
- Michael Bentine in his book Open Your Mind https://www.abebooks.co.uk/products/isbn/9780593015384
P.S. A tale of a typically devious politician. Many years ago I wandered one sunday morning to the newsagent to buy the sunday papers. On my way back home I saw our local MP getting out of a taxi by the bus stop. He then set off walking and I followed him because I was heading that way also. He continued along the main road and as he rounded the corner I thought "Oh, now I know where you are going." He was heading for the local British Legion Club. It was Remembrance Sunday and he was there to lead the parade (down the road he had just walked up) to the church for the morning service. Devious bugger didn't want anybody to know he had arrived by taxi and I'm sure he told them he had walked from the local Metro station.
I haven't voted in years. These days I can't even be bothered to go down and spoil my ballot.
There's nobody even worth remotely voting for and doing so just encourages them
Too bad there isn't a box to check for none of the above.
Here in Tunbridge Wells, we have the Alliance Party, which was formed to counteract a stuffy old Conservative bunch, who were planning a huge People's Palace and leisure complex and wasting millions!
And they got it cancelled too!
Even hard-nosed Tories around here are deserting the current Councillors Concillors in droves, and that's just the women! So it's The Alliance for us - again; they're pretty well non-political and just work very hard for the community!
@Bucko: democracy fails when there are no alternatives on offer within it.
@Jim: yea!
@Scrobs: so there is an alternative to pitchforks and torches.
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