“Here here (as we say in the Commons!). Don't worry about the flippin' site (it can't keep up with your typing). But don't you think that they're all alike? I used to trust the tories but i don't these days and.... well you'll know the rest.”

“Apart from a few years of Lib Dem council we have had a Labour council for donkeys years deciding the police (and others) budget.”

“Well, good job it is democracy then.”

“Dj - "Here here (as we say in the Commons!)"

psst, it's "Hear hear" as in "I hear what you say and agree" not as in "Random geographical reference."

I'm saying this quietly so only you can hear and it doesn't cause a ridiculous nitpicking argument.

But as a note to anyone who gets this mixed up. Look at the words. One makes sense, the other doesn't. Have think eh?

After all, at the end of the day...

... it gets dark.”

“Oh. "Have A think"

Epic fail, as the young 'uns do say.”

“Sorry Jenoe (spelt rong dilibrattlee) I thank you as always for your guidance. It is 'hear hear' as you so correctly point out. Do i owe you anything for the lesson? My brian wasn't working.

For a chuckle you could have put 'i'm saying this quietly so only you can here'.
Actually, good English would also dictate the word 'that' after the word 'so thus 'I'm saying this quietly so that only you can hear.

Luckily it hasn't caused a ridiculous nitpicking argument.'I would hait that.”

“Mimi -I don't trust the Tory's either. I would vote for a non-party candidate.
flossyflathat - ok, but do you you think that the Labour council has done a good job? In any case, a council consists of more than onr person, not an individual.
Anon- Geoff - do you really think we have a democracy? Party politics is far from what I would call a democracy. PartyMPs are elected for political party reasons, not because we feel that they are the best persons to represent us and have the necessary ability to run as directors on the UKplc Board.”

“That doesn't mean it isn't a democracy. It just means it is rubbish.”

“A few democracy quotes:

"The longer I live, the more I am convinced that the common people are doomed to be diddled forever." H. L. Mencken

"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard* H. L. Mencken

"Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule - and both commonly succeed, and are right." H. L. Mencken

"The great thing about democracy is that it gives every voter a chance to do something stupid" Art Spander

"Democracy substitutes election by the incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few" George Bernard Shaw”

“gw69
I like the Mencken quote! That's exactly what I mean about uselessness of the party political system.About the only thing most of the MPs agree on is not to withdraw from the EU and lose possible jobs in the EU if they can't get one as an MP in the UK.”

“Maybe about time we had a peoples Government. 100 volunteers with an average or above IQ. Expenses paid only, ready to put the world to rights. Let's start with a referendum. I cast my one vote......

I'd put at least 15 or 20 of the Forum regulars on here in this . This one above mutton8 for instance (sometimes we've had a tiny squabble but) she knows her stuff.”

“"Democracy means government by discussion, but it is only effective if you can stop people talking" Clement Atlee

"Nothing can so alienate a voter from the political system as backing a winning candidate" Mark B Cohen - oh sooo true.

"Democracy consists of choosing your dictators, after they've told you what you think it is you want to hear" Alan Corenk

"The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter." Winston Churchill

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." Thomas Jefferson and happening now!

"If anyone thinks that I'm putting the world to rights for expenses only, they have another think coming." ghostwriter69”

“The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting.
Charles Bukowski


I'll stop now!”

“The government is to spend £170m to reduce red-tape so that nurses can spend more time doing what they are there for -nursing. £100m will go to buying computers and software so that they can put their paperwork, etc. on computers! Why not just get rid of the red-tape?”

“GCtheDJ - I'm not sure that 100 representatives would be enough to run the uk, but if we had and an 'English Parliament' ,as we should, then maybe that would be enough. But candidates shoud not be allowed to put themselves up for election unless they had proved their ability in industry, public service, education, etc. for say 6-10 years and not just come out of uni with a politics/media degree. They should also, regardless of their beliefs, not express their political leanings,but stand for selection as independents. As a condition of being elected, they should agree to be recalled at any time if enough of the people they represent think that they are not doing the job they were elected to do. Then, instead of them spending all their time criticising each other's parties we might get some action that would benefit the country!”

“mutton8

That won't work. Who is going to decide when to decide to recall one of these people? How would the mechanism work? There are always going to be people with differing views about how things should be and if enough of them got together to recall the people that they didn't agree with, it would paralyse the country.

Also, surely by definition an independant only represents themselves? At least with political parties, if they were different to each other and did what they promised to do, then you would know what you were voting for. But then, very few people would agree with every policy a political party wanted to introduce.”

“We already have Independent MPs and they represent their constituent's views just as well as party MPs, maybe better? They vote and debate without party whips telling them how they should. The ROI have a recall system and it has been discussed here but it is not popular with MPs for obvious reasons!”