Democracy Diminshed.

The Coalition Government has  diminished the political influence of MPs even further than had the Blair Government.

  

Today’s Parties want puppets and clones on their books.  Few MPs dare to act in keeping with the stance they professed when elected.   

Indeed, because of the Act passed by Blair’s government, the Parliamentary Parties, Elections and Referendum Act (PPERA), few candidates dared to put any view at variance with the Party Orders, lest they be forced to stand without Party endorsement, as Independent candidates, unable even to aspire to a description on the ballot paper.

PPERA was introduced because of the introduction of the system of Lists required for the proportional representation for elections to the Scottish Parliament, The Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies and the European Parliament.  

For the first time in British history, parties had to register with the state authorities in order to be eligible to field candidates for Parliament.  Prior to that, anyone or any group or party, could be or field candidates who were able to adopt a description, be it a Party Name, or something as simple as ”Independent  Communist”, to fight their corner to take a seat in Parliament.

But no more – since PPERA, only registered parties can have party names or descriptions and the candidates need the specific endorsement of a Nominating Officer, from the registered Party, in order to have the description on the ballot paper.

The exception, for a candidate not accepted to stand for a party, or not wishing to, is to stand as an "Independent”.  So what, you ask?

Well, in the past, a free spirit could distinguish his or her “independent”  status with some description – for example, “Independent Communist”,  "Independent For A Free NHS”, “Independent Conservative” etc.   The rule now is that the only default description is the single word “Independent”.  So two, or three, independent candidates on the same ballot paper cannot explain or describe themselves as in any way different from the others – are they to the left, right or centre?

A small, harmless shift, one night say. Especially if one is a bureaucratic party, determined to keep MPs in line -  lose the label, lose the seat.  Power has shifted, in this as in so much else, towards  the controllers at the centre – party bosses and bureaucrats.

  

That is not good for democracy. 

And the Coalition bent the constitution even further – gone now are the good old days when a Prime Minster had to command the confidence of a majority of individual MPs in the House of Commons. 

Losing an important vote meant being unable to govern as pledge; but the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives in coalition sorted that –  they fixed the term of parliament so that they retain power even if they lose the support of MPs – and that has happened in this parliament. And adjust the margin by which dissent or dissatisfaction amongst MPs is needed before the cosy cartel can be challenged.

Are all our MPs now wimps? Why do they accept all of this?  To keep the job, regardless?

We must restore the convention we had when we were British, that is, that the Government must have the confidence of the House in order to govern, that MPs should not fear for their futures more than they do for the country, and that free spirits can stand as Independents but with some description,  so that the electorate can distinguish their intent.

UKIP SUPPORT SURGES IN SCOTLAND - FOURFOLD

UKIP SUPPORT SURGES IN SCOTLAND - FOURFOLD

I welcome the UKIP victories in England's councils they not really a surprise to us - and that is not complacency, it is because we have being experiencing a surge in interest from the grassroots of public opinion since the Corby and Rotherham by elections.

I am having to make time to be able to respond to people asking about us. The rate of enquiries and the level of our rise in the opinion polls outpaces our growth in membership. That is because most people who vote do not belong as paid up subscribers to the parties they support.

Our surge has seen us up by 400% in opinion poll ratings. A year ago, we had a vote at elections of just 2%. Polls last year, after Corby, put up us as high as 8 or 9 per cent. A 400% rise. 

Remarkably, the surge is coming from all parties and from none - people who may not have bothered in the past. The public are fed up with political parties who are arrogant and tell them what to think, want to price evrything, even their beer, to suit a political end.

All we want is a strong and sovereign Britain. Seems that that accords with folk, who know it means leaving the disastrous European Union and sticking together un the UK.  

We want stronger defences back; we want far, far fewer regulations and diktats; we want no wasteful subsidised wind turbines; we want simple effective taxes and fair support of those in need, and we want Britain back.

The surge has led UKIP in Scotland to setting up more branches - Lanarkshire, Orkney and Moray are now in being with a branch forming in the Black Isle as well. 

Next week, we launch in the Borders with Professor Tim Congdon addressing us on the awful costs and heavy financial burden of the EU - 10% of our GDP! That's £147 billion. Ordinary people understand where we are coming from - it's where they come from!