Thursday 5 May 2011

WHAT ON EARTH GOES THROUGH THIS MAN'S HEAD

There are times when you wonder about the sanity of the British Prime Minster.

He went into coalition with a Liberal Party which wanted Proportional Representation and indeed made it a condition of their support in that coalition.

To their eternal discredit the Liberals folded their tents once the sniff of Cabinet seats and ministerial office, for so long denied to them, was within reach, and they accepted a proposal put forward by Tories. That proposal was that a referendum be held with only two choices:

One would be the majoritarian and deeply flawed First past the Post (FPTP), which can give “strong” government (or put another way, the kind that can bulldoze its way through any opposition); the other, the majoritarian, but very slightly less flawed Alternative Vote (AV) which would at least ensure that every MP had the vote of at least 50% of the public, albeit not as first choice.

Now this AV system was proposed, let me repeat, by the Conservative Party, as the only alternative to FPTP that they would consider, when they, too, smelled the possibility of power after 13 years in the wilderness and needed Liberal help to get it. Perhaps because they use it themselves to elect a leader. Indeed had they used FPTP, Mr Cameron would not have been leader, and therefore not prime minister.

I’m not going to go into the lies that have been told about AV, there’s a brilliant post at Scot Goes Pop, which does that better than I would, but I’m somewhat concerned about the sanity of a man who says in may 2010 that this is a system that he would propose as the only alternative to FPTP that his government could accept, and then says in today’s Telegraph, that it would be a disaster for Britain.

What kind of prime minister proposes a disaster for his country? What kind of man agrees that the people can decide between what we have had since Adam was a lad, and a disaster... and all so that he can get his feet under the desk at No. 10?

Is he wicked, unhinged, or just so contemptuous of us that he thinks that we’ll have forgotten that it was his idea?

38 comments:

  1. LOL LOL LOL Doug. I should have considered that. Bad, mad and superior...

    :¬()

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  2. He is like Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, takes all his decisions by way of focus groups and a big plan. Brown was schooled in it through Blair but ultimately couldn't actually take the decisions. Tony did from time to time and took decisions on the hoof, with varying success.

    Cameron has a much tighter prepared script and thus is hopelessly lost without his dinner party" sounding board. This is especially so as his Kitchen cabinet see Scotland strictly focused on the Glorious 12th and immediately after.

    The real underlying answer is that Cameron only registers Scotland in his cerebrum when it jumps up and bites him on it.

    Oil revenues excepted, Scotland could cut itself adrift from Mother England and sail itself off into the Caribbean, and he would even know. It is worth no seats to him and only offers him the problem of the Labour Party having a foundation that would continue to challenge the Tory hegemony, in Engerland.

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  3. Already into Bollie 1

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  4. The HP sauce was drunk last night.

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  5. A NO2AV result is inevitable, because Britain realises just how flawed AV is.

    It will not change the lives of the 15 million voters who currently live in safe seats. They shall continue to live in safe seats.

    It will end the principle of one person, one vote, as minority party voters get their second, third, fourth and sometimes even more counted as equal to my first preference.

    It will create continual coalition, which means politicians decide what pledges they honour in smoke-filled rooms (hardly empowerment).

    NO2AV. Please God hand us a huge, crushing and irrevocable and tremendous victory.

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  6. Empty vessels make the most sound and lets hope as the poll results come in it gives him a splitting headache all day.
    Those interested in the online coverage STV are obliging all.

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  7. Dean

    "A NO2AV result is inevitable, because Britain realises just how flawed AV is."

    Its good enough for electing Cameron to his position but not good enough for the lesser beings and you can't understand why Tories are despised in Scotland. Hypocrites one and all.

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  8. Well Dean, whether or not is or isn't fairer, what I am asking here is does Mr Cameron think we are all so stupid that we don't remember that this was the only possibility he gave us other than status quo...

    This possibility which he now describes as disastrous.

    A responsible prime minister, or potential prime minister, one with integrity might have realized that it was the only thing that would open No 10's door to him, and said quietly to Nick Clegg.

    "You are asking me to open the door to a potential disaster from Britain. That I will not do, not for all the tea in China, never mind my own miserable ambition.", or something equally Churchillian. But no, sleazy dim Dave with all the statesmanship of a man fleeing for Sun reporters bearing trainers says: " Bring it on. To hell with the consequences".

    Great.

    Thank heavens the Tories are led by someone with a bit more about them in Scotland. For me Annabel is the Tory leader that counts. He’s just a shift wee PR SPIV

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  9. CH: Bang on. If they had used that great and trusted British tradition which has served so well these last 5000 years of Britain's glorious history, David Davies would be prime minister.

    I suppose upon relection that might have averted the particular disaster of the second woefully inadequate prime minister in a row.

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  10. Just imagine how upset old Botox brain is gonna be tomorrow if he wakes up and finds that Scotland has given independence supporting MSPs a majority. Him and Georgie will be chocking on their muesli at the thought of no more Scottish oil to bail their “strong” governments out after their ludicrous reform agendas go tits up!

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  12. iDave is putting on the beef these days?

    Anyone else notice that, quite a wee jowly fowly he is.

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  13. Lord Snooty you leave our Cammie alone! (sorry, but it has been a long day out here as an election agent ... and turnout in Stirling has been nothing short of crap).

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  14. It can't be easy to be a Tory, Dean.

    You have my deepest sympathies and sincere wishes that one day you will see the light and join the SNP!

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  15. The Tories only come out in the grouse season Dean you'll have to get the election date changed.

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  16. How's things looking anecdotally from the polling station frontlines? 6:15am'ish in Tokyo and am champing at the bit to know...!

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  17. Hi David: Go to:

    http://news.stv.tv/election-2011/live/

    they are streaming it live around the world.

    It's looking good from here.... but very very early.

    Rutherglen has just been called for labour... before the actual result.

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  18. He'll be sitting up watching it Munguin.

    He'll probably look a bit wrinkled tomorrow.

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  19. Tris says he is sorry not to answer but his internet is down

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  20. Watching the election returns. Looks like the SNP is pretty much putting the Labour Party out of business. Tories and Lib Dems not doing all that great either.

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  21. Champers opened!

    Cheers

    Toodle pip!!

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  22. Failte agus ohayo from Tokyo chaps
    Unionists seem to have taken a doing in addition to a gubbing from what I can gather here. Should this be the case, all I can say is YA STOATIR and new passports all round please and asap when the job is finally done.

    Am toasting developments over a stiff couple of drams here in bonny Tokyo; and, having tomorrow off, shall be swallowing a guy few more: Slainte mhath!!!!

    Epic stuff!

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  23. Danny: forgive me an early morning (went to bed at 5am) gloat but we spanked the Tories, trounced Labour and annihilated the Lib Dems! You can’t get better than that!

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  24. Lord S: enjoy old thing just think of all those monocles dropping into pink gins this morning round the English cabinet table. They will be sweating crude oil today!

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  25. David will be joining you in a "few" wee drams tonight with a rousing three cheers for Labour and Iain Gray! If 2007 was the perfect storm for the SNP what do they call last night?

    Did not expect to spank the Tories as well by giving "taxi to the golf club" McLetchie a good slapping in Edinburgh Pentlands. So much for Honest Annable's camapign. They will still be crazy to get rid of her!

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  26. What was Annabel's result?

    Is she not on both the constituency and regional lists?

    Looks like the Liberals will only need a taxi, or at best a Citroen Picasso, to move about Scotland, en bloc.

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  27. She is a West Scotland list MSP. But she stood in Renfrewshire North & West where she came third. The SNPs Derek McKay won with Labour second.

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  28. Cameroon is prime minister...that is the joke of the century!...a vote on the voting system...why will it make the slightest difference to how the EU governs us?
    They are all disingenuous scum who refuse to give us the vote we want to have ...the one that would see us leave Europe immediately!

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  29. I'm back on line guys. I couldn't believe the computer went down just as the results started coming in.

    But wow.... I can hardly believe this. Pinch me .

    David: Hope you enjoyed your snifter.Snooty will have downed half his aristocratic cellar by now.

    Nomin: There's some irony there is there not. Good enough for Cameron, but not for the likes of us. A bit like Snooty and his champers!

    Danny: Sorry I disappeared last night. I was reduced to watching on the tv!!!

    As Mrs Thatcher would say: Rejoice at this news!

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  30. Kircaldy home of Brown the disaster has now given the SNP their 65th seat a majority.

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  31. Hi Tris and Munguin. Definitely rejoicing for you. I also just saw the declaration of 65 for the SNP. COOL!!!!

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  32. 68 seats now. They said it couldn't be done because it couldn't be done by Labour because of the strength of the SNP. Labour in their arrogance didn't think that their voters would vote SNP. Same with Lib Dems. But now they have and the SNP have done the impossible.

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  33. CH... Slap Brown... take that as thanks for being North British, being ashamed to say you were Scottish.

    Traitor.

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  34. 69 now Danny....

    Thanks for your rejoicing. LOL.

    I suspect tomorrow morning will see a few sore heads in Scotland, for one reason or another.

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  35. Anon:

    Must have come as the most horrific shock to Labour. STV interviewed a few people in the streets in Glasgow areas. They were saying...

    If you asked them to do anything you nevr heard from them....

    They were useless...

    Once if you put up a cabbage with a red srosette it would win, but not any more.

    Ordinary voters in the heartlands.

    Magic stuff.

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  36. Most places turnout was pretty bad, Dean.

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