Quote:
Originally Posted by ashgray
Thats right.Then where's your democracy for the next 4 or 5 years until you get to put your piece of paper in the big tin box again.Are you gonna be consulted on anything the new government want to do in this time,will we be offered a referendum on anything i doubt it.we will be told to like it or lump it just like we always have in other words dictated to.
governments love people like you just lie back and take it there a good boy or girl or whatever.
|
We live in a representative democracy and that is not the same thing as a dictatorship, even an elected dictatorship. The only remedy to your complaint ash would be for us to do as the Swiss do and put almost everything to a referendum. That's simply not practical in a country of this size.
If what we already have was made to work as it was intended, there wouldn't be a problem. Parliament is perfectly able to hold the executive to account, but sadly over many years Parliament has become ever more content to sit back and do as it's told. There is however no constitutional reason for it to remain like that.
I'm very impressed by some of the arguments coming out of the USA at the moment with regard to Obama's health reform - whatever you think about that legislation, it is apparently significant that it was passed by a Democrat-dominated congress without a single Republican vote of support. The fact that it is significant in US politics for legislation to pass without support from any 'opposition' politicians at all speaks volumes. Here in the UK we expect votes in the Commons to play out along strict party lines and it's headline news when someone decides to be a rebel. But it does not need to be that way.
We need a few more free-thinking MPs and far fewer bullying whips and party managers.