"Sir,After Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, I thought it would be impossible for anyone to persuade me to vote for the Labour party again. Congratulations to George Osborne on achieving the impossible.Leonard MacauleyStaining, Lancashire"When one considers the type of democracy that exists in this country it stretches logic that a member of the electorate considers the only choice is between a set of spivs who wear the colour blue and an alternative set of spivs who wear the colour red - which is not to forget a set of 'trainee' spivs who wear the colour yellow. Do not misunderstand me, I am not advocating we all vote for another set of 'trainee' spivs who have adopted the colours purple and yellow and who wish to retain the status quo of central control, albeit with a small democratic twist.
One only has to read Jeff Randall's op-ed piece in today's Daily Telegraph to realise that there is no difference twixt the blue spivs and the red spivs. That he who is presumably a 'thinking' member of the electorate is prepared to switch his allegiance back to a party who were part of the root cause of our country's present difficulties can only underline the nadir to which our democratic system has sunk. That that same member of the electorate also seems unable to think 'outside the box' and appears to accept that representative democracy is the only form of democracy available also underlines how democratically unaware the electorate have become.
On Saturday last I attended a small seminar, the subject of which was how to ensure that any referendum for cessation of our country's membership of the European Union was successful. This was attended by an MP (Mark Reckless), two MEPs (Daniel Hannan and David Campbell Bannerman) and representatives of various pressure groups. Two matters never entered the speeches given or the questions raised - namely that there are too many pressure groups in existence and that perhaps those groups need to combine in order to present one voice to the people; and neither was any mention made of what, exactly should occur once any referendum was won. After all, is it not essential that if asking the people to vote for something all aspects of the alternative being offered should be spelt out? It is all very well campaigning for the laudable aim that those who govern us should be able to be 'hired and fired' by the electorate - but what is the point of exchanging one set of 'central controlists' for another; in other words what is the difference between a collection of dictators who cannot be hired and fired and the alternative who can? We still end up with dictators.
The fact all present appeared to accept that continuation of representative democracy was the only form of democracy available and was therefore a 'given' was depressing in the extreme, likewise the failure of those calling for a referendum who appeared to have committed the political sin of not thinking through that which they propose.
