Election Year or Fear!

[MadAmster]

Out of interest, are you entitled to vote in the Netherlands or the UK?

Short story long

Left the UK in '84, disenfranchised in '99 having lived abroad 15 years.

I wasn't allowed to vote in NL until "B" happened as I wasn't a Dutch citizen. Following "B", travelling with the family looked like being crap as we'd have to join differing queues at passport control. As I'd lived here for more than 15 years, was married to a Dutch woman , had children born here AND a clean criminal record, all I had to do was fill in a form, pay 185 Euro and I got citizenship in 2017. Since then I've been eligible to vote in NL.

In '22, the UK Election Act was passed and I've been eligible to vote in the UK as well. I have chosen not to register to vote in UK General Elections as I've not paid UK tax since the end of '85 and haven't lived there since '84. Sold my UK house in '86.

[Geoff Parkstone]

It's interesting to see how proportional representation still can't work in practice despite being a theoretically more democratic process than first past post. I remember when I studied it the Italian system was fundamentally unstable with elections very frequent, so to it seems the Dutch.

Would some form of STV be an improvement, but how could it work with a general election? I suppose if all ballots were online then the process would be easier?

Wont matter in a few years anyway as AI will tell us who won without us needing to actually vote

[MadAmster]

As an aside, how's this for the rise and fall of a political party.

2022 Pieter Omtzigt of the CDA fell out with the party, left and became a one man faction in Parliament. In the ensuing months he set up a new party. He was very popular as he had always worked for the people and dug up several serious issues that government and/or governmental departments had caused meaning tens of thousands of people had been done over. The biggest scandal he discovered was that the tax people had forced some 20K people to pay back benefits received "to which they hadn't been entitled and had fraudulently claimed. A la Post Office scandal, some were jailed for fraud, marriages broke up, kids were taken into care, folk went bankrupt, businesses went bankrupt and, when challenged by people, the tax office said it was all above board. Some people got in touch with Omtzigt and he decided to investigate. He's a terrier, like a dog after a rabbit. He proved that they'd been done over by the tax office. An inquiry agreed with his findings and ordered reparations. Also a la PO scandal, 90% of the victims have yet to receive compensation.

He set up a new party for the '23 election and, as he was a popular politician with a track record of genuinely being there for the people, got 20 seats. As an MP he was brilliant for the populace. However, he was now also party leader and wanted control of everything and was poor at delegation. He had a burn out, didn't recover and left politics. That resulted in the party not delivering what people had expected (they were in the coalition). The '25 election sees them go from 20 seats to zero. Heroes to zeroes in 2 years.

[Geoff Parkstone]

sounds a bit like the Tories in this country! may be gone at the next election

[ramAnag]

sounds a bit like the Tories in this country!

Only they lost 244(!) in under five years.

[MadAmster]

Only they lost 244(!) in under five years.

Not totally wiped out though.

[Andy_Faber]

Probably nothing. Can't see them taking a bribe just to risk business reputation.

My experience with estate agents suggests it?s a competency error

[SithHappens]

My experience with estate agents suggests it?s a competency error

Agree. Our letting agents are useless

[Andy_Faber]

Agree. Our letting agents are useless

Are you an accidental landlord (inheritance etc) or deliberate? Obvs don't reply if awkward

[SithHappens]

Louise Haigh on HIGNFY , dreadful, why do politicians go on there?