I usually ignore Polly Toynbee, such asinine drivel does she write However, I can’t let this claptrap pass by without comment.
But don’t forget that politicians speak robotically for a reason – and voters share the blame. Voters say they dislike party discipline, wanting MPs to speak their consciences, yet as every original thought becomes a newsworthy “gaffe” and “split”, voters also punish parties severely for any sign of disunity. Voters are contrary. If they want more electoral choice, why did they reject a small improvement in the AV referendum? They say they want honesty, but they don’t always reward it.
Utter bollocks. This stupid woman is ignoring a significant fact. The significant fact – that no matter what we want, ours is only one vote in millions. We have about as much chance of changing things through the ballot box as we have of winning a lottery jackpot. Many of us live in safe seats – in which case a vote is meaningless. So, those of us who do vote for change – or choose to opt out – make no difference one way or another. Certainly I do not accept as this cretinous old bat is claiming, that it is our fault. Oh, no, the fault lies rather closer to home for Polly.
Yet Labour’s 1997 five pledges were control-freak cautious, as the party was nailed to every promise by a hostile press, while Cameron’s cavalier vows faced virtually no scrutiny.
I dispute that last statement there has been plenty of negative comment in the news about Cameron and his merry men – but it’s all there, isn’t it? It is the press that is responsible – it is the press that will leave politicians being very careful about what they say for fear of being seen to do a U-turn or breaking ranks with party discipline because it is the press that will put a spin on something uttered and it is the press that misrepresents stories. Politicians are in bed with the journalists and it is a match made in hell. It is not we, the voters who punish a politician who dares to break ranks, it is the press. All we can do is withhold one vote in the many that are cast – a tiny drop in the proverbial sea of discontent that makes not a jot of difference to the result.
On the doorstep, no candidate dare wag a finger to remind these angry citizens that they have duties too.
Just as well, they would get a very sharp retort if they did. I have no duties to our democracy. I have no duty to vote in any particular way – or even to vote at all. What I do or say will make no difference to the mendacity of politicians and journalists, so whether I vote or not is by the by. I certainly have no duty to them nor to keep them in the manner to which they have become accustomed.
I despise them all.
If the silly cow’s so upset about the big bad press, perhaps she should stop taking their cash and writing such drivel.
Self awareness was never one of la Toynbee’s strong points.
I am not a fan of Polly but there is not much wrong with the first quote about the contrary , robotic , logic free way , in which the British vote . I voted for AV because it was (as she says ) a slight improvement over FPTP . The LabCon alliance would not allow PR on the voting paper as they knew it would be the death of them .
Remember the outrage about MPs expenses . Next chance the voters get they put them back in to Parliament . She advocates PR as a way of enfranchising us puny voters . I agree with that .Cretinous bag ??????????? The people who vote for the LibLabCon (EU) are the cretins in my book . HAPPY NEW YEAR
The vast majority of us don’t.
From the outside it seems that most changes to the UK were not at the peoples request.
In fact some reasons for the political actons still seem clouded in mystery
What we want is never considered – except briefly during election campaigns. Once the votes are cast, the promises vanish like fairy dust and it is back to normal. Our democracy is broken. The demos have no say in what goes on and it is absurd and disingenuous of Polly Toynbee to try and blame us for something that rests firmly with the politicians and the media – not to mention the uncivil service.
You shouldn’t allow yourself to get wound up by trolls, and Toynbee is one of the worst.
There can be no argument that she doesn’t believe the stuff she advocates. She only does it for the substanstial money she is paid which as we all know is required to maintain her property in Tuscany – very socialist.