Thanks. That helps Re. the voting, yes its a similar system. The other thing is that its a bit like 'Yes Minister' in big size. Its the unelected officials who seem to hold the real power. How many civil servants work for the EC.........about half of them!
Galloway or Hunt..... Boris or Cameron UKIP or Osborne Etc... etc... Both sides have great people representing it.....
I am really torn. There are pros and cons to both staying and leaving the EU. Currently, I'm probably about 55% on the side of leaving the EU and 45% on staying.
Put me in power and I'll legalise all drugs. Take the power and money away form them in an instant. Vote Vin for Victory. Vin P.S. I don't do any drugs ever so no personal interest.
Now there's an idea for the ballot - rather than in/out, a percentage vote. I could vote 98/2, you could vote 45/55. Or a ballot paper with a line printed on it and you have to mark how close you want to be to Europe. Vin
As I think someone has already said. The Tory government need someone to keep them in check, and (it may be scare mongering) I have already read that workers rights, that are already being diminished, would be at an even greater risk, outside of the EU. When you include Tory plans to move boundaries, in order to improve their chances of staying in control, at the next UK election(s), the average man in the street really needs to get to grips with the dangers to them.
That's somewhat disingenuous. The Boundary Commission is an independent body set up to keep (amongst other things) constituencies at a similar number of voters. People move, so boundaries need to change and there is a review about every ten years. The last one was in 2007 so it's around the time for another review. To say the review is in order to improve their chances is bending the facts to suit an agenda somewhat. Vin [Edit: from Wikipedia: Once a Commission has completed a review, it submits a report to the appropriate Secretary of State who puts forward legislation to the Parliament implementing the recommendations. Parliament may approve or reject these recommendations, but may not amend them. If Parliament approves the recommendations, then the Sovereign signs an Order formalising the boundary changes which are to be used at the next general election. Any by-elections use the pre-existing boundaries. Although for many years the legislation gave the Secretary of State power to modify a Commission’s recommendations, this power was never exercised. This separates boundary making by a combination of structure and convention from those elected from the resulting electoral areas, thus significantly reducing any scope for gerrymandering.]
Well, seeing as no one else has posted anything from the centre ground yet... Tim Farron - leader of the Liberal Democrats - making a passionate case for staying in the EU. I quite like Tim (I find him honest, sincere and a good speaker), so I make no apologies for posting his views in here. This is from an episode of BBC Question Time, focusing on EU, immigration and the politics of fear.
The whole thing will be driven by racism hidden behind the agenda of immigration. I was talking to some people in Andover the other day who were telling me immigration was destroying the country. Goodness knows where they got that idea from. It certainly wasn't from first hand experience. You don't see a black face or an eastern European anywhere near the place. We live in a vibrant exciting cosmopolitan city with people from all over the world and Southampton is the better for it. What really worries me is what will happen to all my friends who have decided to live in France and Spain, my cousin moved to Italy only 18 months ago what will happen to her. What about my nephew who has married a young French girl and has two children. What about my very good friends among whom there are Spanish, Hungarian and Germans? Are we going to kick them out? I like to take the ferry to France for a holiday and serious food and wine shopping. What will happen to all those German cruise ships that come into Southampton and bring jobs and prosperity to Southampton? I have become a true European and the tragedy is that the whole EU edifice will be brought down by the little Englander mentality and racism and it fills me with horror. I am already convinced that I can do nothing else but vote to stay in for the sake of my friends, my family and my prosperity.