democracy and the law

[RicW 67]

ric . . .democracy is the worst form of government , except for all the alternatives , winston churchill. And your first point is my point exactly as soon as theres a law we disagree with its oh we are not free any more , try telling that to the somalians or citizens of countless other countries which are living through horror stories. Im not to bothered about the civil list myself , im not sure how much it costs us but i would imagine its a few pence a year per person , and the constitutional powers of the sovereign really are in name only , the reforms i would most like to see are the complete overhauling of the house of lords and as you say proportional representation , not because either would advance my own political agenda but because both reforms would advance democracy in this country.

 

Agreed. That's why I put written constituency, Bill of Rights and PR first. The Second Chamber should be like the Senate in the US, fully elected and functioning as a check mechanism on Congress (= House of Commons.)

 

Little though I like the idea of yet more compulsion, I am intrigued by the position in Australia. Voting is compulsory BUT there is a space marked "None of the above." I imagine thet a politician who found himself winning with 10% of the vote and 90% saying " ****the lot of yez" would get his ass in gear PDQ

 

Ric

[RicW 67]

Fcuked up country, glad we can hunt till we drop over here.

 

:tongue4:

[mushroom 12,883]

We in this country have the RIGHT to peaceful protest and democratically elect the people who govern us. Agreed???

 

So why....

 

Do we have to submit a plan for a march?

 

After the truckers fuel protest did the government ban go slows on Britains roads?

 

Are we governed in statutes and acts made up by quangos whom we did not elect but were positioned so because of their sympathies or allegiances?

 

I'll answer all the questions for you

 

The plans for marches and go slows being banned are all to do with embarrassment!!! Embarrassment for the government that ensued after they were shown up by thousands of people turning up in London unannounced to say that the government had it wrong. "We cant have this happening again Gordon what shall we do?" " Och oor Tony ban them under the guise of prevention of terrorism" this is their answer BAN IT, control them, give them ID cards, take their DNA, interfere with their way of life

 

 

 

Was the lady reading out the names of war heroes quietly a terrorist? She was arrested as such

 

What about the elderly lifelong Labour supporter who heckled Tony at a conference and was hand balled out roughly and detained under the prevention of terrorism act,

 

 

 

And youre seriously suggesting that everything is peachy and democratic

Firstly , any quango made up of unelected people cant pass acts of parliament . .the govt acts on their reccomendations. With regards to your views on the organisation of marches , i think it has little to do with embarrasment , more to do with coordination and legistics , when the national front and the anti nazi league marched on the same day and it erupted into violence on the streets , whose fault was that? The general public live in london as well , are they not entitled to their freedom. Many protests are peaceful , but some are not , i would be shocked and more than a bit pissed off if the police were not taking a role in coordinating things , who is there to create the traffic diversions so that ordinary citizens can go about their lives , safety traffic . . There are many reasons these things have to be coordinated , you only have to look at some of the ideas being mooted on this site to know that someone with some organisational skills and some local knowledge is needed or total chaos reigns. (how about "lets take thousands of people to london and lets all take our dogs !") we are all opposed to the hunting act but if youre going to march in london ,the ambulance still needs to get to granny having a heart attack and mum still has to pick up the kids from school on time.

 

Unfortunately I agree with some aspects of this, But I can't believe your spealing the crap about the reasons unvetted marches are not allowed or go slows. Wake up!!! these acts were passed to stop any more embarrassment to the government from angry citizens who disagree with what the government are doing or how they are doing it. What right has any government got to change laws to suite their own purpose???

As for quangoes their recommendations are always acted upon they may not be able to directly pass laws fair enough. Who elected them to draw up legislation for the government to act upon???? No one yet they still have a loud voice in how this country is run.

 

To be quite frank a protest march is to gain correct recognition for your chosen grievance this you will not do by being sidelined down some back street, out of the way of the main public because they are EMBARRESSED that their silly little act is unworkable, unlawful and a vindictive strike to the rural way of life that is being eroded by these ACTS.

 

You are correct though in saying ambulances, fire, police etc, need to get through (bus lanes would be kept clear) but as for kids going to school or this that and the other carrying on as normal well........ The purpose of a march is to cause disruption unfortunately; it is the only way to have a voice in this country aside from joining the ranks of shark's sorry politicians. The disruption to our lives that is a result of the hunting act is huge.

 

As for ideas mooted on this site, don't think anyone is seriously advocating violence and I can't see a problem with bringing dogs with you. Personally I think you like to disagree with everybody your not a politician are you???

[flint67 2]

i dont disagree with everyone mushroom , just people whose opinions differ from mine. Protests shouldnt be about disrupting peoples lives , a certain amount of disruption is inevitable but the purpose is to make your views known , not to disrupt the lives of people . .and picking up toddlers from school is the one thing you have to be on time for in life. I dont know how many protest marches there were in london this year ,do you? If you were on the c a march , you wouldnt consider putting a dog through that , even if it was the only one there , the prospect of everyone taking their dogs ?? Nightmare!!