Free and fair elections?
07 June 2012 by Neil Eyre
Democracy is not something i have much faith in. Democracy can be
abused and does get abused on a regular basis.
The democracy we have in this geographical region is no
different. Its open, Its relatively transparent, but ultimately
its very flawed, and does not work the way we come to expect
democracy to work. I have blogged about this subject
before.
http://neilandreweyre.wordpress.com/2012/05/12/this-is-what-democracy-looks-like/
the reason i want to comment on this subject today is because i
have just discovered another flaw in our 'gloriously fair
democratic process'
to be part of it, you have to pay! yes you heard me right taking
part in democracy may very well be 'free' but actually getting
involved by putting yourself forward in democracy is not
free.
I’ll get to the point before i start losing viewers.
In order to be declared a candidate in the PCC elections on 15th
November you need £5000! (if you get 5% of the vote you get the
money back) This is not a joke or a rumour; i had it confirmed by
a very nice lady at the electoral commission less than an hour
ago after reading it on a UNISON website.
The party politicians don’t have to worry about raising these
funds because they are members of a private club that not only
pays for their name to go on the ballot but dictates to them what
they can say and do. They decide the mandate that the candidate
will run on and not the individual actually running.
The bottom line here is an independent candidate with no money or
private members club to pay for everything has no chance of even
getting on the ballot let alone run a campaign.
This is immensely frustrating because every time I read a local news story about the Labour candidates for the PCC the comments page is loaded comments from people who don’t want a party politician running the police. Right or wrong the majority of people I have spoken to directly and the comments I have seen posted, don’t want a politician running the police. They just don’t want politics and policing to mix.
Here are a couple comments posted by readers of the Scunthorpe telegraph:
by Paranoid61
Monday, March 12 2012, 3:42PM
“Policing and Politics are a bad mix”
by englander61
Friday, May 11 2012, 2:52PM
“I think the police should work to uphold the laws of this country and not be ruled over by any member of a political party”
Here is the big kick in the teeth though. The electoral commission made these rules and they are telling me that they can’t be changed. When these rules are put to parliament, parliament is just going to accept them. They can offer no amendments or changes to the rules. They have to accept them, and why wouldn’t they. Parliament is run by politicians from private members clubs so why would they want to change rules that benefit their clubs.
Democracy does not work. It is failing and the ordinary person on the street has no control over its abuse.
It’s quite simple everyone. You can’t change the process and unless you have the money you can’t join in with the process. Join a party/private members club and you can look forward to being put in a position of authority, but then you have no autonomy because you are then owned by the club and you have to do what they tell you.
There is no defending this. This rule can’t be defended. It’s unreasonable to the point of being a joke
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Comments
Hi John,
I did not know that there was a fee of £5000 until i read it on the unison website but i did have it confirmed by the electoral commission. it is 100% accurate. It is also accurate that you get the £5000 back if you get 5% of the vote, but my point was you have to pay first just to get on the ballot.
You say our democratic system is the only system that appears to generally work. I would argue that it does not work because it is being abused! when a process gets abused then it no longer can be considered a correctly functioning process and you get rid of it and replace with something new. We don't do that in this country! We continue to use the same failed system, and progressively make it worse and worse.
Ill fight on with a campaign. I'm not about to start asking people for money just so i can put myself on the ballot. Other people should not have to pay for me.
One thing we lack in people who are elected to positions of authority is 'principle' I will not go against my own principles just to get elected. If i have to do it via a write in campaign then so be it. Ill just ask people to write me in on the ballot. The way i see it is its easy to put a cross next to a name on a piece of paper but it really means something if you can get people to write your name on the ballot paper.
The way i see it. If i get 5% of the vote with write ins, then the electoral commission and the parties would have to recognize and accept it because if i had paid the £5000 then i would have got it back.
I did not know that there was a fee of £5000 until i read it on the unison website but i did have it confirmed by the electoral commission. it is 100% accurate. It is also accurate that you get the £5000 back if you get 5% of the vote, but my point was you have to pay first just to get on the ballot.
You say our democratic system is the only system that appears to generally work. I would argue that it does not work because it is being abused! when a process gets abused then it no longer can be considered a correctly functioning process and you get rid of it and replace with something new. We don't do that in this country! We continue to use the same failed system, and progressively make it worse and worse.
Ill fight on with a campaign. I'm not about to start asking people for money just so i can put myself on the ballot. Other people should not have to pay for me.
One thing we lack in people who are elected to positions of authority is 'principle' I will not go against my own principles just to get elected. If i have to do it via a write in campaign then so be it. Ill just ask people to write me in on the ballot. The way i see it is its easy to put a cross next to a name on a piece of paper but it really means something if you can get people to write your name on the ballot paper.
The way i see it. If i get 5% of the vote with write ins, then the electoral commission and the parties would have to recognize and accept it because if i had paid the £5000 then i would have got it back.
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If what you say is correct Neil about putting up a £5000 fee to stand for election then it is a travesty in a so called free democratic society.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Whilst not for a moment disbelieving your comments and source I really have my doubts because I consider such an imposition and restrictive action difficult to comprehend.
Whoever or what part of the electoral process introduced such a travesty, for whatever reasons should be sacked forthwith or the committee disbanded.
I have been, in a life time ago a candidate and prospective candidate and did not have any fee to pay but situations do change. In today’s life much has changed, not all for the better in my humble opinion.
Whilst our democratic system and democracy in the UK leaves a lot to be desired and sometimes appears, to say the least, wanting, unfortunately it is the only system that appears to generally work, warts and all, and until someone comes up with a better system we are stuck with it.
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