tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17312454.post115239693769648530..comments2023-10-07T15:01:23.872+01:00Comments on Not Little England: John Prescott should be out, here's whyMatGBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02821264556751176639noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17312454.post-1152740894637074322006-07-12T22:48:00.000+01:002006-07-12T22:48:00.000+01:00Gareth, I like those links. Would need to, um, ad...Gareth, I like those links. Would need to, um, adapt the poster a little bit, maybe use the top two as an animated gif banner?<BR/><BR/>Chris, not sure about sacking him as he's Deputy Leader, it'd be a Labour rule, not a Govt rule, so he can break it if he wants, or use the Duchy of Lancaster or something.<BR/><BR/>Bob? I've voted by post. It has its uses, and I would never argue to abolish it. But the widening and active encouragement of postal voting for all, with no reason, is something I now dislike. I dislike the idea of early votes anyway (stories that break after posting, etc), and strongly feel that attending the polling booth is a distinct and important part of the democratic process.<BR/><BR/>Like I've said many times before, the voting system is a much more vital method of improving turnout. <BR/><BR/><A></A><A></A>Posted by<A><B> </B></A><A HREF="http://voting.taktix.org/" REL="nofollow" TITLE="matbowles at gmail dot com">MatGB</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17312454.post-1152529072246913862006-07-10T11:57:00.000+01:002006-07-10T11:57:00.000+01:00Mat, I have voted by post, in fact I usually do. E...Mat, I have voted by post, in fact I usually do. Election day around here is a bit hectic. I don't actually think tinkering with the systems does do much, but if ways can be found to engage people by e-voting, text voting, whatever, with safeguards built in I'm all for it, although I agree, ultimately it does mean candidates and parties having something to offer. <BR/><BR/><A></A><A></A>Posted by<A><B> </B></A><A HREF="http://www.councillorbobpiper.blogspot.com/" REL="nofollow" TITLE="bob dot piper at gmail dot com">Bob Piper</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17312454.post-1152482613033259132006-07-09T23:03:00.000+01:002006-07-09T23:03:00.000+01:00Integrated transport, that has kind of gone the wa...Integrated transport, that has kind of gone the way of the 'ethical foreign policy'. I walk to work, and cycle or walk to the shops. But when it comes to public transport it's just terrible. I've tried using the trains before to visit people (with my car the carbon output would be lower) but they are never reliable or convenient I have had to cancel entire weekends because of them, and even when they actually get me to where I want to go the direct cost is often higher than driving. This is without taking into account the indirect costs of subsidies required to keep it all going. My brother lives in London but even then if he wants to come back west it is cheaper and easier to fly than take a train. <BR/><BR/>As for Prescott but can Blair actually sack him? I'm sure that I've read somewhere that because of the position that he holds in the Labour Party a cabinet post is required to be found for him, that's why Blair was forced to take away all his duties while leaving him in cabinet so far. <BR/><BR/><A></A><A></A>Posted by<A><B> </B></A><A HREF="http://strange_stuff.blogspot.com" REL="nofollow" TITLE="port80802000 at yahoo dot co dot uk">chris</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17312454.post-1152409997036120702006-07-09T02:53:00.000+01:002006-07-09T02:53:00.000+01:00You may like this poster  that I designed a w...You may like this <A HREF="http://www.artofpolitics.co.uk/cep/campaign_for_an_english_parliament_8_2005.jpg" REL="nofollow">poster</A>  that I designed a while back.<BR/><BR/>And these <A HREF="http://www.thecep.org.uk/news/ViewItem.asp?Entry=938" REL="nofollow">quotes</A> that I compiled.<BR/><BR/>The man is an utter moron, an utter waste of money, and an utter disgrace to any brand of socialism. <BR/><BR/><A></A><A></A>Posted by<A><B> </B></A><A HREF="http://toque.co.uk" REL="nofollow" TITLE="toque at canadamail dot co dot uk">Toque</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17312454.post-1152400489151574792006-07-09T00:14:00.000+01:002006-07-09T00:14:00.000+01:00Bob? You know my views on electoral reform and ho...Bob? You know my views on electoral reform and how it will improve turnout. Postal voting isn't needed, and merely papers over cracks.<BR/><BR/>Give people real choice, a real competition of ideas, and inspire people to vote. Postal voting, supermarket voting, etc, are all iniquitous attempts and miss the point.<BR/><BR/>I've never been keen on opening up postal voting, and Tim's list included it, so I took it in and expanded on it a little. Have you ever voted by post? I have, and I've witnessed for a friend (we were both students at the time). That's a valid reason.<BR/><BR/>But if people value democracy so poorly that they can't be arsed to go vote, then it's the politicians, not the people, that are the problem.  <BR/><BR/><A></A><A></A>Posted by<A><B> </B></A><A HREF="http://voting.taktix.org/" REL="nofollow" TITLE="matbowles at gmail dot com">MatGB</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17312454.post-1152400231862361552006-07-09T00:10:00.000+01:002006-07-09T00:10:00.000+01:00Bloody hell Mat.. I hear a barrel being gently scr...Bloody hell Mat.. I hear a barrel being gently scraped if Prescott is being accused of encouraging people to vote. It's a different matter that at the same time the number of people voting fell, but without postal voting the fall would have been even more drastic. Fraud allegations were plentiful BEFORE postal voting by the way. <BR/><BR/>Incidentally, the postal voting legislation came about when the Government accepted a recommendation of the Electoral Commission (and so did all the other parties because it had cross party support). <BR/><BR/><A></A><A></A>Posted by<A><B> </B></A><A HREF="http://www.councillorbobpiper.blogspot.com/" REL="nofollow" TITLE="bob dot piper at gmail dot com">Bob Piper</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17312454.post-1152399409826523382006-07-08T23:56:00.000+01:002006-07-08T23:56:00.000+01:00True, he's not directly responsible, but his depar...True, he's not directly responsible, but his department oversaw local govt, and failed to make the case in the treasury for ensuring that councils were given sufficient money to pay for all the Govt policies.<BR/><BR/>Increasing teachers salaries substantially without increasing money from the centre increases council expenditure, thus puts up council tax. I know that Torbays biggest expenditure by miles is education.<BR/><BR/>PErsonally, I'd like to see councils mostly fund themselves, but to do that, you'd need a decent revenue system for them, I'd like local income tax, some sort of local busines profit tax and then some sort of land value taxation. But given that council tax is where it's at, and central grants are paramount, then Prescott is culpable for the failure to fund things properly.<BR/><BR/>If local councils set pay and recruitment policies for, for example, teachers, then they can pay raise the money. They don't, so they shouldn't. <BR/><BR/><A></A><A></A>Posted by<A><B> </B></A><A HREF="http://voting.taktix.org/" REL="nofollow" TITLE="matbowles at gmail dot com">MatGB</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17312454.post-1152398854922754712006-07-08T23:47:00.000+01:002006-07-08T23:47:00.000+01:00John Prescott didn't put anybody's council tax up ...John Prescott didn't put anybody's council tax up - that was done by councillors of all parties and none. Prescott acts as a handy foil for them, though doesn't he? <BR/><BR/><A></A><A></A>Posted by<A><B> </B></A><A HREF="http://not-little-england.blogspot.com/2006/07/john-prescott-should-be-out-heres-why.html" REL="nofollow" TITLE="ciaran_black at googlemail dot com">Ciaran</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com