re: [Update] The UK votes to leave the EU
 

Why doesn't Russia have 2 parties or more? We do have a say, but just like in Russia wether or not anyone listens is another story.

re: [Update] The UK votes to leave the EU
 

cos it's the way it is in Russia. When I say they have more say than us I mean the man in the street holds a meeting. That meeting passes their ideas up the chain to the district who pass it up the chain to the Council and so on till it reaches the top.

re: [Update] The UK votes to leave the EU
 

I am struggling how this justifies the claim Russia are more democratic than us or really how what you say works in practice. It actually sounds rather sinister and reminiscent of the Stasi.

You can get your voice heard in the UK. Write to your MP, phone radio stations and so on. It's just that with 65 million people you become a voice in the wind. Russia has 143 million so I doubt Putin is hearing from the 'man in the street'.

re: [Update] The UK votes to leave the EU
 

I am not sure too many people in the West would agree with you on this point.

re: [Update] The UK votes to leave the EU
 

I'm not sure many people in Russia would agree with him.

re: [Update] The UK votes to leave the EU
 

They'd agree or it'd be dose of polonium...

Ignore them Big Brian, I know what you were trying to say. You've entered a hornets nest joining this forum!

re: [Update] The UK votes to leave the EU
 

No he hasn't , he has entered a forum with a unbiased moderating team. So you're free to put your point forward, but you're going to also have to read other users responses.

The fact I am not banned shows how tolerant, unbiased, none political this forum really is. Forums like this (there is not many) really do show the unedited opinions of poeple for all walk of life. From surviving on minimal benefits, to living on very very good earnings.

An my dyslexia is almost never mentioned lol.

re: [Update] The UK votes to leave the EU
 

Err, not currently banned that's true !

re: [Update] The UK votes to leave the EU
 

Why would I get banned? Abusive name calling? Threatening? Ect???

I do and will at times defend my "point" but that's because I believe in what I say. I can only be me, I cannot change to avoid a ban. I suspect you would love me banned. I wouldn't want you banned it's important to read your views. It's even more important to understand why you formed those views. An your daily posts makes your political beliefs and the reasoning behind them very clear.

re: [Update] The UK votes to leave the EU
 

I say leave Russia to the Russians and get to grips with the pathetic reality that the UK has managed to achieve virtually zero reform of the EEC/EU from the inside. Not only that but in spite of wanting us to stay in, Cameron has been offered diddly squat at a time when there's a very reasonable possibility that we'll pull out. All of that strongly suggests to me that a) the EU can't/won't be reformed, b) they've never wanted the UK's preferred vision of Europe, c) they'd rather we leave than change and d) if we don't leave we can expect to have even less influence because any threat of the EU's second largest net contributor upping sticks will have gone. They'll have won the battle of wills and we'll be condemned to the EU's very own version of a nightmare.

re: [Update] The UK votes to leave the EU
 

Please don't ignore us :) Seriously, there are not many definitions of democracy that do match Putin's Russia. I am sure the Soviets referred to by Brian don't put forward policy ideas that depart radically from Putin's agenda.

A very special version of Russian democracy

re: [Update] The UK votes to leave the EU
 

I'm glad you do. I had to do it for a Modern Studies Exam in the 80s that's how I know.

Not so much a hornet's nets but some just don't have a clue of politics and that's fine by me.

No it doesn't mean they are listened to but that's how it works.

---------- Post added at 19:02 ---------- Previous post was at 18:58 ----------

I don't think I'm local to you as I said in my opening post on here I can't find one for my area but it's nice to have a decent debate for a change. I've been on other forums where people just don't have a clue and spout drivel all the time.

re: [Update] The UK votes to leave the EU
 

I'm sure many think you don't have a clue an spout drivel "all the time" .

re: [Update] The UK votes to leave the EU
 

Interesting "debating" style.

Please explain why "some just don't have a clue of politics"? I am also interested to know how a Modern Studies Exam in the 80s relates to the Russia of 2016 ..

re: [Update] The UK votes to leave the EU
 

Russia ... or rather the USSR ... was a one-party communist state when you studied it in the 80s. Progression within the party was by patronage and disagreement with the party could be injurious to one's health.

There was a brief experiment with the democratic election of communist officials at the very end, but the USSR fell apart pretty soon after that.

Russia today is (in theory) a pluralist democracy, but intimidation of opposition parties and their supporters is rife and in practice there is no democracy worthy of the name.

I won't be surprised if you also think RT is a great news channel that cuts through the western propaganda to tell us what the world (according to uncle Vlad) is really like.