Europe now has an unelected President and foreign minister

[Clinton Huxley]

I don't think we need 600+ MPs. You could re-organise the constituencies and get it down to 400. Means fewer duck ponds on expenses.

[devogue]

1. I have absolutely no representation at local level - all of my local councillors have been entrenched in their positions for at least ten years because all my fellow electorate vote for parties rather than personalities. Result: fuck all accountability, fuck all gets done. Fellow electorate's reaction: Total apathy.

2. I have absolutely no representation at provincial level - as a right wing, entrepeneurial nationalist in Northern Ireland I am disenfranchised - the default position of Irish nationalism is on the left. The electorate continues to vote for a bunch of cunts who scrabble and fight to shore up the most extreme parts of their vote with shite about constitutional issues while important issues such as education are completely fucking botched. Result: fuck all accountability, fuck all gets done. Fellow electorate's reaction: almost total apathy.

3. I have absolutely no representation at national level - Northern Ireland has 2.5% of the UK's population - we cannot vote for Labour or the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives are officially allied to the Ulster Unionists, whose position I profoundly disagree with. The majority of nationalist MPs do not even take their seat at Westminster, including my own local MP Michelle Gildernew. I have had absolutely zero say in everything that has happened at Westminster over the course of my life.

4. I have absolutely no representation at European level - the three Northern Irish MEPs, from sectarian parties whom I detest, represent 0.38% of the total number of Members of the European Parliament. The only time I ever hear about these people is at election time - how many of you have heard anything from your local MEP since the last election campaign? Exactly. I know next to nothing about Europe, except what I have tried to learn myself - there is a national and international conspiracy of silence and disinformation on both sides of the argument about the EU and I have come to the conclusion that I know fuck all.


Conclusion - democracy is a load of shit. I have now given up caring and as long as I have a quiet life they can do whatever the fuck they want. I can't even get my rates bill sorted out, let alone influence European governance..

[Clinton Huxley]

You're not wrong, Dev, but short of declaring your wine shop to be an anarcho-syndicalist commune, what you gonna do....?

[devogue]

You're not wrong, Dev, but short of declaring your wine shop to be an anarcho-syndicalist commune, what you gonna do....?

Move to New Zealand.

At least it's sunny.

[klr]

You're not wrong, Dev, but short of declaring your wine shop to be an anarcho-syndicalist commune, what you gonna do....?

Move to New Zealand Saudi Arabia.

At least it's sunny.

Just one small problem ...

[Clinton Huxley]

You're not wrong, Dev, but short of declaring your wine shop to be an anarcho-syndicalist commune, what you gonna do....?

Move to New Zealand.

At least it's sunny.

No chance, Dev, there's entrance criteria for New Zealand.

[devogue]

You're not wrong, Dev, but short of declaring your wine shop to be an anarcho-syndicalist commune, what you gonna do....?

Move to New Zealand.

At least it's sunny.

No chance, Dev, there's entrance criteria for New Zealand.

I sailed through that - the secret is to say Fush and chups.

[Horwood Beer-Master]

I don't think we need 600+ MPs. You could re-organise the constituencies and get it down to 400. Means fewer duck ponds on expenses.

Not with a major reform of expenses (and massive MP wage cut) it wouldn't.

Plus if you divide the number of MPs by the UK population you get one MP per 94,602 people. Excuse me if that doesn't make me feel very represented.
And remember the population is increasing - how long 'till we reach one per 100,000 people (even without reducing the number of MPs.

The public calling for the number of MPs to be reduced is a pure unthinking kneejerk reaction - they are cutting off their nose to spite their face.

[devogue]

I don't think we need 600+ MPs. You could re-organise the constituencies and get it down to 400. Means fewer duck ponds on expenses.

Not with a major reform of expenses (and massive MP wage cut) it wouldn't.

Plus if you divide the number of MPs by the UK population you get one MP per 94,602 people. Excuse me if that doesn't make me feel very represented.
And remember the population is increasing - how long 'till we reach one per 100,000 people (even without reducing the number of MPs.

The public calling for the number of MPs to be reduced is a pure unthinking kneejerk reaction - they are cutting off their nose to spite their face.

Keep the same amount of MPs and increase the amount of Citizens Advice Bureaus.

[Clinton Huxley]

I don't think we need 600+ MPs. You could re-organise the constituencies and get it down to 400. Means fewer duck ponds on expenses.

Not with a major reform of expenses (and massive MP wage cut) it wouldn't.

Plus if you divide the number of MPs by the UK population you get one MP per 94,602 people. Excuse me if that doesn't make me feel very represented.
And remember the population is increasing - how long 'till we reach one per 100,000 people (even without reducing the number of MPs.

The public calling for the number of MPs to be reduced is a pure unthinking kneejerk reaction - they are cutting off their nose to spite their face.

Any per capita level of MP is going to be purely arbitrary. Is one MP per 50,000 realistically any more "representative" than one per 100,000. In a practical sense, I think not, especially given that the overwhelming number of MPs will just vote as the party tells them anyway.

[Horwood Beer-Master]

I've just done the same sum I did in my last post, to work out the ratio if we had Mr Huxley's 400 MPs.

It works out as 1 per 152,783!

[Horwood Beer-Master]

Can't carry on discussion now - I'm in the library and my time's nearly up.

I'll get back to this later.

[Clinton Huxley]

Can't carry on discussion now - I'm in the library and my time's nearly up.

I'll get back to this later.

TTFN.

[Drewish]

Consider this a big hellos to big government and the end of regional sovereignty. I'd tell you all it's not so bad, but I'd be lying. Now you'll get to find out why American politics sucks so much.

[Feck]

Consider this a big hellos to big government and the end of regional sovereignty. I'd tell you all it's not so bad, but I'd be lying. Now you'll get to find out why American politics sucks so much.

All politics sucks .