ChatterBank3 mins ago
One thing I hate to hear is......................
17 Answers
...................if you didn't vote, why are you complaining about the govt and it's policies? This really does annoy me and it shows how narrow-minded some people are. I DID vote, btw, but if people pay their taxes and have an honest lifestyle, why should they not complain about the govt? They contribute to the upkeep of the system, so have every right to make comments, complaints and observations.
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I disagree. Total adult suffrage (apart from prisoners, etc) has not always been the case in this country, and is certainly not the case in other parts of the world.
So we have the right to participate in the democratic process of deciding who will represent us in parliament, but some of us choose to forgo it. That's their choice, of course, but also means that they have nothing to complain about if things don't turn out to their satisfaction.
"Do you want strawberry or raspberry?"
"I couldn't care less."
"OK, I've bought strawberry."
"But I don't like strawberry!"
"Tough..."
So we have the right to participate in the democratic process of deciding who will represent us in parliament, but some of us choose to forgo it. That's their choice, of course, but also means that they have nothing to complain about if things don't turn out to their satisfaction.
"Do you want strawberry or raspberry?"
"I couldn't care less."
"OK, I've bought strawberry."
"But I don't like strawberry!"
"Tough..."
Mark , Green Party Deputy Leader Adrian Ramsay says that the LibDems have betrayed the people who voted for them at last General Election with the deal they have struck with the Conservatives for a new coalition Government.
It is clear that the LibDems have agreed to Conservative plans to start making public sector cuts during this financial year and that the LibDems have failed to get an agreement for the introduction of a proportional voting system.
Did you get what you voted for ?.
It is clear that the LibDems have agreed to Conservative plans to start making public sector cuts during this financial year and that the LibDems have failed to get an agreement for the introduction of a proportional voting system.
Did you get what you voted for ?.
> Green Party Deputy Leader Adrian Ramsay says that the LibDems have betrayed the people who voted for them at last General Election with the deal they have struck with the Conservatives for a new coalition Government.
No doubt.
> Did you get what you voted for?
Inasmuch as the candidate I voted for didn't get in, no I didn't.
However, you're missing the point here by a country mile. The fact that the candidate of the party of which I have been a member since I was 18 wasn't elected is just the way our particular brand of democracy works. There's an argument for saying that, as a party member, I could have been more active in the electoral campaign and that the fact that "my" candidate lost is partly due to my inaction.
However, it is precisely because I participated in that democratic process that I am able to complain about my current MP. If I hadn't voted, I couldn't complain about the MP elected by those people who did vote...
No doubt.
> Did you get what you voted for?
Inasmuch as the candidate I voted for didn't get in, no I didn't.
However, you're missing the point here by a country mile. The fact that the candidate of the party of which I have been a member since I was 18 wasn't elected is just the way our particular brand of democracy works. There's an argument for saying that, as a party member, I could have been more active in the electoral campaign and that the fact that "my" candidate lost is partly due to my inaction.
However, it is precisely because I participated in that democratic process that I am able to complain about my current MP. If I hadn't voted, I couldn't complain about the MP elected by those people who did vote...
Well you could, Mark, but it would be a bit hypocritical. Those that did not vote are entitled to the full services of their MP. You do not have to show “proof of voting” before you can approach him or her.
Although it has strayed a bit from the original question, this thread is interesting in that it displays some of thinking that surrounds democracy and voting in the UK:
“I don't think anyone voted for the present government”
Indeed they did not. The electorate never votes for a government or a Prime Minister in the UK, they vote solely to elect their own MP. The Queen invites one of them to take to post of Prime Minister and form a government. It is Party Politics (which has done more to devalue our system of democracy than anything else) that dictates who this should be.
“It is clear that the LibDems have agreed to Conservative plans...”
Yes indeed they have, and in return they have a quarter of the Cabinet posts – something that without a hung Parliament and their participation in a coalition they could never have dreamed of. In return the Conservatives (who gained by far largest number of votes and seats in the election) call most of the shots.
“...the LibDems have failed to get an agreement for the introduction of a proportional voting system.”
Partly true, but they have an agreement to a referendum on the AV system – something which neither of the two main parties would have acquiesced to (unless you believe Labour’s “death bed conversion” in the days following the election). Voters need also to understand that should this, or any form of PR be introduced, a “hung Parliament” (where effectively everybody gets what nobody wants) will become the norm.
Although it has strayed a bit from the original question, this thread is interesting in that it displays some of thinking that surrounds democracy and voting in the UK:
“I don't think anyone voted for the present government”
Indeed they did not. The electorate never votes for a government or a Prime Minister in the UK, they vote solely to elect their own MP. The Queen invites one of them to take to post of Prime Minister and form a government. It is Party Politics (which has done more to devalue our system of democracy than anything else) that dictates who this should be.
“It is clear that the LibDems have agreed to Conservative plans...”
Yes indeed they have, and in return they have a quarter of the Cabinet posts – something that without a hung Parliament and their participation in a coalition they could never have dreamed of. In return the Conservatives (who gained by far largest number of votes and seats in the election) call most of the shots.
“...the LibDems have failed to get an agreement for the introduction of a proportional voting system.”
Partly true, but they have an agreement to a referendum on the AV system – something which neither of the two main parties would have acquiesced to (unless you believe Labour’s “death bed conversion” in the days following the election). Voters need also to understand that should this, or any form of PR be introduced, a “hung Parliament” (where effectively everybody gets what nobody wants) will become the norm.
>> If I hadn't voted, I couldn't complain about the MP elected by those people who did vote...
> Well you could, Mark, but it would be a bit hypocritical.
Fair point. For the sake of clarity, what I meant was that if I hadn't voted I would not feel that I had any moral or ethical right to complain about the outcome of a process in which I deliberately chose not to participate.
> Well you could, Mark, but it would be a bit hypocritical.
Fair point. For the sake of clarity, what I meant was that if I hadn't voted I would not feel that I had any moral or ethical right to complain about the outcome of a process in which I deliberately chose not to participate.
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