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Sunday 9 June 2013

Sunday, June 09, 2013 Posted by Jake 6 comments Labels: , , , ,
Posted by Jake on Sunday, June 09, 2013 with 6 comments | Labels: , , , ,

The fact is a man or woman does not get into parliament by winning their seat in a General Election nor in a Bye Election. They don’t have to persuade the majority of all voters in their constituency that they are fit and proper to be their ward’s representative. 

Prospective MPs merely have to persuade their local constituency party activists – comprising about one in a hundred of the electorate. It is by persuading these local activists, allegedly regarded by some top politicians as ‘swivel-eyed loons’, that our MPs actually get themselves into Parliament.

A report by the UK Parliament in December 2012 stated that:

“In 2010, only 1.0% of the electorate was a member of one of the three main political parties. Labour had approximately 193,000 members, the Conservatives 130,000 to 150,000 and the Liberal Democrats 49,000.”


According to the Electoral Reform Society ordinary voters in most constituencies tend to stick with the same party. Which means the loony party activists in those constituencies have the parliamentary seat in their gift. :

"The average constituency last changed hands between parties in the 1960s, with some super safe seats having remained firmly in one-party control since the time of Queen Victoria. "
Electoral Reform Society

http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/safe-seats/#1830-2010

The Electoral Reform Society's map of 'safe seats' below shows that most of the UK is in the gift of the eye-swiveling loons:



Put the same map against a map showing unemployment rates and you can see with the loons raving about one thing in blue areas (cutting help to the poor and unemployed) and another thing in the red areas (increasing help for the poor and unemployed) we end up with a large proportion of cynical lunatics as our MPs in Westminster.


6 comments:

  1. Define 'eye-swiveling loons', there are so many multi-hued 'loons'!.

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  2. Why is this map called the United Kingdom when you have chopped off Scotland? That Scotland has its own parliament is not an excuse.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How come you don't mention Cornwall and west Wales? We do do a separate blog on the affairs of a perfectly rectangular country with a smaller number of large and easily visible parliamentary constituencies. One look at that will show you that our intentions are entirely honourable. :-) By the way, if you want the full picture, click on the link given above, and reproduced here http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/safe-seats/#1830-2010

      Delete
  3. It's not 1% of the electorate that decide who the MP will be, it is more like 1% of that 1%: the party activists. Most party members will not turn up or vote at selections... I say this as a party activist....

    ReplyDelete
  4. Selections are decided in the main by a tiny minority of people who control each political party. They are there to keep out anyone they feel would challenge the 'consensus'. The leaders and their supporters will exclude people from the shortlists who's face doesn't fit. The 'swivel eyed loons' only get to chose from the leaderships restricted list.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The data you are presenting are approaching 6 years old!

    I suspect the picture looks quite different right now.

    ReplyDelete

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