Saturday, November 17, 2012

Turnout was low bacause the establishment hates people power

The BBC started announcing that turnout would be low a week or two ago and then went into full "Minister when did you start beating your wife mode" in any interview before hand with those responsible for the elections.

Why ?

What they were doing was trying to get the herd to accept the meme that the elections were a failure. Now this is a slightly rough political ploy when used by a political party, but its outrageous when used by the public service broadcaster who is paid to run an effective new monopoly - and is supposed to be impartial.

So why are the corporatists and socialists so scared ? Well they don't like people power - they prefer to tell people whats good for them - like gay marriage, having their children placed into anything the state calls a couple in the event of their death ( or the state deciding to cease those children ).

But it wasn't just the BBC who hated this idea. Its quite clear that the Coalition didn't support it fully either. Perhaps police commissioners sounded great in opposition, but in government with all those common purpose graduate civil servants whispering in their ears they changed their minds.

And they were right to be worried. Look at all the independents who were elected on Thursday.

Unlike local elections which are just a core vote national battle on national issues - with the LibDems doing their stirring endlessly facing always act as a side show - here people have made up their minds on the merits of each case.

That's unheard of.

The political professionals and their class of Oxford graduates ( and it does seem to be just Oxford ) should be scared. But perhaps they don't need to worry as the BBC will persuade the public that they don't like the idea also with their cynical manipulations.

There's something new here - and we should embrace and defend it before the dead hand of the establishment gets to cover its mistake in allowing us a choice in the first place.

Update: Charles Moore makes some good points in his article in this morning's Sunday Telegraph. Specifically:

  • PCCs were a Conservative policy before Cameron was leader ( implying that Cameron never got round to  ditching the policy ).
  • Nick Clegg tried hard to damage this democratic [policy - fearing the damage to Lib Dem chances at local elections.
  • They key people who vote in elections are the elderly who will have had most difficulty in using the internet to access information - the government refusing the usual posting of election candidate information.
You expect this sort of anti-democrat rank hypocrisy from the Lib Dems - after all its who they are. But its interesting to note it of Cameron also.

Perhaps I could also add that the most obvious attack on this people power was the removal of the term Sheriff from the plans and calling them PCC's ( I still can't remember precisely what the tla is for ).

Clearly Pleb Power wasn't popular in No 10.

6 comments:

Bill Chapman said...

"Turnout was low bacause the establishment hates people power"? No the turnout was low bacause the people hate establishment power.

Jennytc said...

It was unbelievably badly organised right from the start, no information, no canvassing and the cynicism in me agrees that there were reasons for this. Those who were elected on such abysmal turn-outs cannot really be said to have a mandate.

Anonymous said...

I didn't vote. Justice is about crime and punishment. The huge, gigantic, all enveloping problem we have in the UK is the lack of punishment. I don't want to vote re police commissioners. The police do catch criminals by the shedload. I want to vote on judges. Especially I want to vote out of office all these useless wrist tappers who make a mockery of justice and insult the victims.

Man in a Shed said...

I know many people who didn't vote - thinking somehow they were letting politics into the role. But its there already ( all these quango's and appoiyments are a soup of politics and grace and favour positions offered by those in power ).

In Surrey the new independent PCC was elected with more votes than almost any MP is Westminster has.

Its quite clear the establishment have tried to drown this puppy at birth - the fact that they are using the anti-politics anti-coalition fealings to do it doesn't detract from their intention. ( And it does hide the intentions from the geenral public who think they are some how attacking the estbalishment by not voting ).

Why were the elections ran so poorly ?

Why didn't the BBC publicise them properly ?

Why didn;t the goivernment do so ?

Anonymous said...

The lack of punishment isn't the fault of judges or police but that of taxpayers who don't want to pay for more prisons and politicians who know that there are no votes there. Give judges and magistrates the prisons and they will fill them up. Note well that politicians (and prison governors)will always dream up initiatives to release prisoners early when prison overcrowding with its accompanying horror stories of slopping out, cell sharing and human warehousing rears its head.

James Higham said...

So why are the corporatists and socilists so scared ? Well they don't like people power - they prefer to tell people whats good for them - like gay marriage, having their chidlren placed into anything the state calls a couple in the event of their death ( oir the state deciding to cease those chidlren ).


I'm part of the choir and your voice sounds good.