Why Politics Doesn't Work
Some random thoughts on politics, particularly in the UK:
It's a two-party system. People don't believe that the Liberal Democrats will ever get in power, so they feel that voting for them would be a waste of their vote. Instead they vote for either Labour or Conservative ... just like everyone else, thus ensuring the vicious circle continues.
No one party shares your exact views. We are forced to choose between a number of parties, none of which exactly share our views.
The Green Party's policies closely resemble my own beliefs, but even they have one or two policies I don't completely agree with. If I vote for them, I would have to accept that I am voting
in acceptance of their policies that I do not agree with.
You need a representative in your area. I wanted to vote for The Green Party in the last election, but there was no candidate in my constituency. I was therefore unable to vote for the party of my choice.
Many people vote to keep one party out of their local council. Take for example, Newbury. It is very close between Liberal Democrats and Conservatives. Many people will be voting Liberal Democrat to keep the Conservatives out of the local council (or vice versa) even if they do not fundamentally support that party. They are voting for their local benefit, not the international benefit.
Some people vote to keep one party out of parliament. Similar to my previous point, some people will vote conservative to keep Labour out of power, and some people will vote Labour to keep the Conservatives out of power. I fell into this trap myself in the last election.
What a party says it will do is not always what it actually does. Labour made the promise to fix the NHS before the last election. I haven't the figures to hand but I'm pretty confident that most of you will agree that they haven't. Labour promised to end student debts before the last election. Likewise I don't have the figures handy, but student debt has increased dramatically since Labour came into power. Generally parties only really make an effort when they want to be re-elected.
Policies change over time. Similar to my previous point, a party's policies may change over time. What they say today may not be the case a year from now. 3 years with a party whose policies have changed radically from those they quoted in order to get elected is a long time.
Anyone who wants to be in charge of the country is the wrong person for the job. It's an old adage but that doesn't make my point any less serious. Look at America; George Bush really wanted to be president. Is he fit to be a president? No! He has an IQ of sixty-something. I wouldn't give him any responsibility in my daily life, certainly not the power to determine whether I live or die.
If a party is adversely affecting the country, there is no way to get rid of them. At least not until the next election. A party can do a hell of a lot of damage in four years -- five if they stretch it out. (According to my flatmate who is studying law, the government can in fact have a 5 year term if they so desire, but traditionally they have a general election every four years)
Too many people have lost faith in politics. I strongly believe that a great deal of the country simply don't care anymore. They've realised that it's bound to be either Labour or Conservative every time, and they've realised that they're both as useless at running the country as each other. Their vote will, they feel, make no difference and so why should they even care. A disturbing number of voters have been known to go into the voting booth and simply mark whichever name was at the top of the paper. Numbers of people actually voting are dwindling. Is this the way to run a country?
The House of Lords is unelected. Personally I fail to see how this can be classed as democracy. If they've not been elected then, in my opinion, they have no power at all. They are not representative of the country as a whole, only the top 1% wealthiest minority, and they have only their own gains in mind. These people have no right to decide what is and what is not law.
The country should be the master of the government, not the other way around. We the people should be running the country. The politicians should be listening to what we say and acting upon it. We should not be sitting back and listening to what the government tells us we should be thinking and feeling about important issues. The government should not be so well paid. They should have modest incomes, and that money put to better use. It's about time the government saw the way the people they represent live.
It's not going to get better. The problem is we're stuck in tradition. This country is obsessed with tradition and politics is full of it. That's why we still have a queen even though she has no power. So because this is how it's traditionally done, it's not going to ever be done any other way. Even if it's all completely wrong. No party would ever change the way the government is ran because it benefits them so much. How does change in the politics of a country come about? By a
revolution or a
coup d'etat and people who try such things end up serving rather long prison sentences, so that's far from ideal.
What can be done?
Sadly I don't see many options. The ideas of staging a coup or organising a revolution are bad ones. A coup is a very risky business, and a revolution takes money, time, people, dedication, and getting people to believe in your cause. In this country, getting people to believe in a cause is like trying to push a rock up a hill through treacle. The remaining option is less extreme: Simply vote as best you can in the next election.
Forget about your local council and vote for the party that best represents your views. Forget voting for one party to try and stop another party from gaining power. Don't believe anyone who says "a vote that isn't for Labour or Conservative is a wasted vote," because it's thinking like that which causes the two-party system we have. Do try to think about the bigger picture. Don't just vote for the party which will save you a few quid off your council tax, vote for the party which will ensure that your kids will still have a country to live in when you're six feet under. Don't feel like it's all a waste of time -- there's far too much apathy in this country -- remember that people fought and died to give you the vote.
Finally, don't believe everything a party says on TV. They'll say anything to get voted in.
Blog #486,
posted at 00:13 (GMT)
