Parliament exists to be representative of the People, not the wants of the Government of the day. Reducing the number of MP’s will only increase public disenfranchisement as power is centralised further
In amongst the din of the Brexit chaos, you may detect the odd snippet of news concerning the proposed reduction in the number of MP’s.
Under a supposed process of making representation more fair, by redrawing Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries, the current Government is seeking to complete the process began by David Cameron to reduce the number of Parliamentary Seats.
As has become normal practice with the Political Classes of today, the story focuses on what they want us all to hear. Not what they don’t want us to think.
Hear ‘balance’, hear ‘fair’, hear ‘equality in representation’.
Don’t hear ‘more people per MP. Don’t hear ‘greater distance between voters and their representatives’. Certainly don’t hear ‘redrawing the political geography of the Country to favour one political side’.
Its pretty normal for us all to have political allegiances of one kind or another. Thats the way that the UK has worked culturally for a long time. But whatever side we support, there is nothing positive to be gained by attempting to tip the balance of the electoral system to place one Party in front, with the indirect aim of ensuring that for the opposition, becoming a government will almost always be denied.
One of the greatest struggles of contemporary politicians is understanding why they don’t get support for their ideas and policies. They don’t consider that their policies and ideas might be wrong. They certainly don’t entertain the thought that they are so completely out of touch with the electorate that they represent, that they have lost their way from the pathway that they should be taking. That of ensuring the impact of policies and decisions, and therefore their consequences are considered for their impact upon us all.
Instead they have concluded that it is the system which is broken. It is the system that is wrong. Their solution being that the system should be fixed. That everything will be much better if they can ensure that their own side can achieve a guaranteed and majority win.
It doesn’t matter if its redrawing electoral boundaries, or introducing proportional representation or a derivative form of it. All these ideas are about gaining more control by dubious means, rather than simply doing the job that all of these politicians have been elected to do.
The problem is that each and every step that is taken in this way is ultimately making the disconnect, the disenfranchisement between us, the Government and the Establishment more distinct. It will not make things better. It will give voters even less of a chance to speak.
image thanks to unknown
