24 April 2015

Whos rights? Our rights!

There is a fundamental conflict of interest between MP's representing us, the people, and voting on a transfer of power form the people to government/parliament.

When the United Kingdom spearheaded the creation of the European Court of Human Rights it established the principle that there are inviolable rights that all human beings should have that reside outside the jurisdiction of national governments.

We looked back at the horrors of  two world wars which had just passed, at the way in which those who came through them, from all side,s had been mistreated and damaged at the hands of the nations involved and took the brave decision that for the sake of humanity national governments should be subject to certain restrictions on their behaviour.

By signing us up to the newly created ECHR they presided over one of the biggest and bravest transfers of power from a government, to the people, 


10 April 2015

A Manifestly Flawed Relationship

Political parties are preparing to launch their election manifestos to be picked apart and scrutinised by the public and media (and given whatever spin fits each groups particular agendas). Each manifesto will no doubt be held up and discussed as 'the' definitive guide to what this or that party is going to do to our country (with much bemoaning of what it will do to the -insert word most likely to enrage your particular brand of consumer- ').

Then, when the dust has settled over the hair of another set of secretaries and ministers, turning them from brown/blonde/black/red/etc. to a uniform tired grey, the media (on our behalf of course) will hound them all again, brandishing a battered copy of their manifesto and pointing to the 'pledges' they made and how they haven't stuck faithfully to what they promised to do, how they have deviated from their political holy texts in a kind of political blasphemy; and all this will feed in to a familiar (and to the many who prefer to be permanently enraged and indignant, comforting) narrative of broken promises, mistrust and failed 'all the same' politics.

But is this useful, or even, dare I say it, fair to politicians? To that my answer is simply, No. Actually it's more like, 'no of course it bloody isn't.' Nor is it even what we should expect from them.