With the way our system operates, it is possible to have an issue which is supported by 90% of the population, and have a government that rejects it or worse, destroys it.
The NHS is a supreme example of this. If the government is allowed to prevail (and they have 3 or more years in power), then the NHS will cease to be a Public Service, and become a Private Corporation. That is and always has been their Game Plan.
This will mean that large numbers of people will not be able to afford it, and chronic health problems that we have made obsolete will return.
If that happens, then Brexit will be a minor nuisance in the scheme of things.
So with our current system, you cannot have Brexit and the NHS, and it is just staggering (to me) that anyone could think that Brexit is more important than the NHS, and perverse that they have been able to drag everyone else down with them.
Democracy is a principle. There is no standard method which everyone uses, and would become the definition of democracy. You can see that just by looking at how different Nations convert votes into power; basically the people who are given a mandate to govern. In our case MP’s and Parliament.
So here’s the thing. Most people are not loony little Englanders. That is an extreme fringe. I put them in the category of Brexit at any cost, and if that means other people suffering they have no problem with that. That is a callousness.
But most Brexit supporters want an NHS as a Public Service, free at the point of use, regardless of means to pay. This is how the Country looks after it’s citizens in a civilised way.
But that choice was not there. That is simply not good enough.
I don’t want Brexit but I do want the NHS. So the overwhelming majority of people who want the NHS have been dismissed. Shut out. Ignored. That’s not representational politics, and entirely undemocratic.
Proportional Representation (P.R.) is the next step towards a better democracy. You can see it in action in various countries, but of particular note is Scandinavia where it operates very successfully.
Until we get rid of this ridiculous First Past the Post (FPTP) election system, we will continue to see mandates given to minority governments. After all isn’t a true ‘majority’ over 50%? Well the Tories got 44%. That means 56% have to endure government they didn’t vote for.
So does it not make sense that elections are (more) based on Policies rather than personalities? Something where we could have had Brexit but also keep the NHS?
Most people want something more in the middle. There is no hope of that with our current system. PR is the only way you will have a chance…
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