gaggle64 Posted March 19, 2006 Posted March 19, 2006 That's a very bleak and simplistic view of local and national politics. First of all, there are still plenty of channels through which the public can air it's grivences to their representives at local and national level, including lobbys, parliamentary commities, and so on. Ever watch the BBC Parliament channel? It's the greatest channel in the world. There's everything from debates over hospital trusts to local school authorities, ministerial investigations, sub-office debates and regional policy as well as the usual like Prime Ministers questions. A recall a few weeks back watching the lobby fighting for compensation for ex-coal miners pitch their case to the parliamentary commmitee. The means for ordinary citizens to represent themselves in an official capacity are redily available. Furthermore, if people want to move away from a two-party system, why not vote for a third party? I mean, why doesn't anyone? Even with the first past the post system, if they only win by a small margin, their real political power could be next to nothing, especially depending on the council ballot. Imagine if a small number of the population in a single area finally saw sense and voted Green? Even if they failed to get the national seat, they could overun the local council ballot and claim a huge amount of power with even a handful of council seats. If your worried about party politics, why not vote for an independent candidate? Hell, stand yourself if need be. Alternatives exsist. USE THEM.
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