With the headlines in politics all centered around the AV Vote, it does make me wonder 'Why does it matter?'. I am not one who keeps particularly up to date with the current topics and decisions being made in government, but I like to step away from the Metro for a more intellectual and in-depth read from time to time. I have a few issues with the Vote and why I find it to be somewhat irrelevant.
1. What are the government actually doing this week? There appears to be too much of their valuable time being put into a debate on how they get into power. They have done well to swiftly distract us from the numerous cuts in the NHS, police force, military etc. Following a week where Osama Bin Laden, al-Qaeda leader, was captured and killed, they have plenty to think about.
What we don't want to see is the government not taking enough time on the important issues in our country. We have already seen a recent example of our schools being proposed a half-baked English Baccalaureate, if we see this lack of thought across all sectors then we're going to have real problems.
2. Was there anything really wrong with the 'first past the post' system? We vote for who we think is best to lead our country. Simple. One argument FOR the vote suggests that the system needs to change with modern times.
"First past the post did work, once. In the 1950s and 60s, when up to 95 per cent of people voted either Labour or Conservative, it was the perfect, most effective way to get strong government. But for the past 40 years, that 95 per cent figure has declined. Nowadays, probably not much more than 60 per cent of the electorate votes for the two largest parties, with the rest fragmented among Green, Liberal Democrat, Ukip, nationalist and the like. Add to that the steady decline in the number who vote at all (possibly because fewer people feel there's a party that fully reflects their views) and we as an electorate now have a system that cannot cope." Armando Iannucci, The Independant
Let me pose this opinion; what if the reason for our current scenario is because we, as a country, do not feel that ANY of the parties are up to the job? If there were one party who stood up and had the whole country believing that they can make Great Britain a strong, powerful nation as it was in the past then would we not all feel empowered to vote and show them that we believe. When was the last time we had a leader who we all believed in and respected?
So is this new vote just a cover up to make it look like there is one party who is good enough?
3. Will it even make that much difference? Those who don't votes still won't no matter what the process is.
So from me, please government, get back to your offices and spend your valuable time on our country. We need you more than even, stop worrying about who's in power and run our country, that's what you're there for!
