Quote Originally Posted by Geoff Parkstone View Post
".....the lack of involvement of the electorate being an obvious issue, rarely seen or heard unless they are directly affected....."

So you are now a fan of referenda then? I recall the electorate were recently involved in a decision that you could not support and berated them as gammons and thick for referendumising the way they did. Can't recall what it was about, exit or something perhaps??
No thats not what I was talking about! Though interestingly the Swiss seem to be able to use referendums more, not sure how they organise and manage this but given their reputation for efficiency its not surprising it works.

Of course, one would have to have a level of regulation and fact checking so that empty unprovable slogans and promises were not bandied about as the truth and the funding of campaigns etc. would have to be strictly controlled so a bunch of rich people were less able to influence matters to their own advantage.

Involvement of the electorate as in actually giving a toss about whats happening, being involved even at a local level in politics, actually understanding that politics as in life means compromise and not getting everything one wants and that other needs and requirements are equally valid and need to be accommodated in some way.

It obvious from both election results and that ill conceived and badly managed referendum that a lot of people are completely ignorant of reality!

If there is a subject that needs to be on the national curriculum, it would be politics, never mind about maths - actually having a clue about politics and how the UK and other countries are governed would be a start!!

Above all actually bloody voting!!! In fact one of the first things I'd do would be to make voting mandatory! I'd also use technology to make it simpler and more accessible.

But as ever, you make broad statements such as all politicians are sleazebags without thought as to those that aren't and how a system might be reformed.

And yes Labour is prone to issues, but on the other hand they did reduce NHS waiting lists, improved schools and raise millions of people out of poverty and actually stop a world financial crisis completely wrecking the country, only for the Tories to do that in the succeeding 13 years!