I can sense readers eyes starting to glaze over,but persevere, things as they say might get better!
I was willing to vote No simply because this silly little £480 million piece of froth was Clegg's price to obtain his red box and smirk-seat next to Cameron.It seemed too easy a target to give the dreadful little fart another good kicking-why?
"Because he deserves it!"
He still deserves a good kicking,but in truth the electorate on May 5th will give him the destruction of his political base that will set them back several decades.with a bit of luck back to the days when the entire Parliamentary Liberal party could fit into one taxi.
But then doubts started to fidget around in my brain.After all had I not always believed in proportional representation even before I had ever heard of Lib-Dems and seen the yellow of their little eyes!
Clegg was right when he called AV a squalid little compromise and it is still at best a halfway house.But it is possibly better than what we have now.
What exists today is the power and hegemony of the marketing manager and the fat chequebook.Wev saw that graphically in Northampton South when an absolutely useless Labour candidate who was not arsed about the town still managed to come second!
People voted for the brand and what was worse the power and influence of the telephone campaigns and the party political broadcasts.
What was of course even worse Binners won!Hardly first past the post more first past the plonker!!
My favourite form of democracy was the once powerful mass meeting.How enjoyable it used to be to see Jackie Dash speak to thousands of London dockers and then call for a show of hands:
"Right Brothers-how do you want to vote?"
Some of course always whined on about mass meetings being intimidatory in nature,but I always saw them as demonstrations of worker's solidarity and an affirmation of the power of the collective.
I'm sure there were some who would rather slink away and side with the bosses-but such meetings stiffened their resolve-that's for sure.
The day of the mass meeting is long gone,we have to work with what we have,and that is a pretty poor mess of pottage.
AV has one virtue and only one.It appears to annoy the Tories far more than anyone else.Most people really don't give a monkeys but it would seem the Tories are going berserk.
My old Dad always taught me that if a Tory says something's wrong, then invariably it's right!
Mind you he also said that the only good Tory was a dead Tory,that may however be a bit extreme.
So starting from a position of wanting to kick Clegg I have changed my strategic thinking and now feel even this dreary little adjustment may cause the Tories more grief , so on that profound balancing of all the sophisticated arguments that are raging about for me it comes down to the simple question.
Who do I dislike most?
And this time there is the added bonus that the objectionable toss-pot Lord Reid of Authoritarianism is on the Tory side too!
Put me down as a YES.
I know it must be hard for non Clegg/Lib Dem fans to make a unbiased opinion on to AV or not, and trust me ~ I get that totally.
ReplyDeleteI think you have to try (if possible) to take the political parties out of matters.
I guess it is easier for a "newbiee" party supporter like me to say that, than it is for someone like yourself or Tony Clarke.
I can view it as what it should be about, a better voting system. More choice; better choice. Hard working honest politicians who work hard and don't have the luxuary of "safe seats." I want my voice and view to count, so do people like my folks who will rarely (if ever) vote; as will the next generation of voters who think "you" are all the same, nothing will ever change and their voice does not matter.
But hey, what do I know?