General Chat

also i dont agree the politicians should have 2 homes unless they buy there own .why the hell should i pay for that.and all there stinkin perks.

i answered yes to all.but im thinking that if i voted for um ,would that class me as racist .which im deffo not.
i can understand peeps coming from other countrys to get a better life .we would if we were in some of there situations.but we have to draw the line somewhere.i dunno who i.ll vote for .we usually voted tory .last time i did labour and wished i never did it.so unless the monster raving loony party still exsists .i think im gonna have to think long and hard .xx

Who told you that we live in a democracy? It's a consitutional monarchy, to give it it's corect title, with the queen as head of state. We've been that way since the Glorious Revolution in 1688.

We don't have a president....but you know who in advance will be the PM before you vote, as he will be the leader of the party.

What system would you suggest....?

But Eddie, there are moves afoot to change the political system, and remove the 'first past the post' system of election. Perhaps proportional representation will become a reality in this country after all.

However, I disagree that the election results mean we are not a democracy. The fact that we get a vote at all shows we ARE a democracy, even if the system is in itself wrong. If you don't think so , try living in the mdidle east.

What people also forget in a general election is that we dont' vote the government in. We vote the local MP in. So we could have our own local MP winning his seat in a general election, as we may have voted, but that does not mean he is in the same party as the majority which currently make up the government. It's not necessarily going to mean he will if we had proportional representation either.

What? We live in a democracy? Since when? Last time I voted the government still got in!
But more seriously, looks like the tories (heaven forfend) could be elected. They will achieve approximately 35% of the votes cast. A huge majority, maybe 65% or more will not want them ruling this country. We won't even be allowed to choose our own president / prime minister. He (or she) will be elected by a few thousand voters in their own constituency and a couple of hundred mp's. And that is democracy? I don't think so - Its a sham and a farce.

But not as costly as denying it. Some things are worth paying for.

'Free Speech' can be costly sometimes.

contrary to what many people believe, it is Whitehall that runs the country......the " Government" are merely figureheads.......

thats MY belief......

Bob

Is someone somewhere suggesting that BNP members should be punished for what they say?

If not, what's the free speech issue here?

It's entirely possible to acknowledge that someone's act of speaking is protected by their right to speak, without welcoming what they say.

And it's certainly not acceptable for anybody to claim that democracy is all about the marketplace of ideas and everybody having their go and people making up their own minds from what they hear ... and then to sit on their backside and say nothing when scum like the BNP talk. Unless they're on the BNP's side, of course.

'Cause if democracy is about the marketplace of ideas, and one believes in democracy, then one stands up and speaks out. Otherwise, one really doesn't believe in much of anything.

Yes, Muffy, that's the way to do it. Preserve free speech and the right to an opinion - no matter how unpleasant - and let people decide for themselves.

I don't think the BBC did anyone any favours with the high handed way he was dealt with on Question Time tbh...and said so at the time. I heard a lot of people say the next day he had been *jumped on* and not given his chance to say his piece...I'm afraid he won a few sympathy voters that night.

Like it or not...(I agree with Eldrick here)...they're a legit political party and it's public debate that should stifle them not anything else x

Eldrick maybe desperation and democracy can be interchanged in that context...lol

Griffin may be all of those things - I personally think the same of Blair as an individual - but I wonder why so many people disagree and have followed the democratic procedure and voted the BNP into power - albeit in a small way, with a handful of seats in Europe and on local councils. I suppose that is democracy in action.

Kay, if you were to take Nick Griffin out the the party and say put a Martin Bell type personality in I wonder then how people would react?

Griffin is a vile, contemptible swine, he does politics in general absolutely no favours.

Sue x

No
yes
yes
yes
yes
no
no

BNP? ........Isn't that British Nuclear Power? lol

:o))

SueCrutch,~~}}
honest as you been,,,,

I blame Eldrick for it all meself,,,,,,:}}}}}}}

funny how we can agree with some /all of it ,yet dislike all what they.stand for**they **could be any party btw.....

It all goes over my head or I choose not to get het up and throw tomatoes at TV screen,,,,:}}}}}

I am a yes to all for different reasons than general respondents I would guess.

Yes, I am treated as second class (no need to expand on that).

I'll be betrayed by every government for as long as they can open their mouths and speak.

Traditions are being suppressed by Health and Safety not just the implied immigrant percentage.

Criminals who receive compensation for ridiculous counter claims is damn stupid.

Taxes will never be spent where I think they should be.

Lost control of borders, definitely but I blame the EU in part for shuffling the responsibility across each border till it becomes the UK's problem.

Enough is enough, yes and it always was and always will be.

Am I a BNP supporter, not at present but when they become more main stream like Plaid Cymru who knows!

Sue

Quite interesting :-)

Certainly dont feel 2nd class, people will always feel betrayed by whatever govt. is in place, what traditions...? Again, people always subscribe to the feeling that criminals have it easy, taxes are always wasted on things people dont agree with or have their own agenda, our borders are OK - we are an island, illegal immigration is a concept for popular mythology and enough is enough can mean whatever you want it to.

But the BNP is a legitimate political party, whether you agree with them or not. Once you stifle free speech, it's the start of the slippery slope. So I welcome anyone that puts these views forward so that people can make their own minds up, in an informed manner, of course.

lol I do like to be different ;)

'No' to all , except for 4 and 5...to which my answer was not 'yes' but 'in some cases' . Find me a government of any party that has pleased all of the people all of the time in all aspects of its running of the country. There is no such animal :)

Yes to all but I'm also not a BNP supporter and have no intention of voting for them xx