UK General Election Thread - New Poll every Sunday

[StevenChilton]

Every country has veto-power in the council of ministers.

Voting is a right you have as a citizen. Being a convicted criminal doesn't suddenly mean you lose your citizenship, thus you should have the ability to vote.

Not anymore. The number of competencies where EU member states have the power of veto has rapidly diminished. That's why Cameron was unable to veto Jean Claude Juncker, where as in the past the member states could veto candidates they didn't like.

Convicted criminals currently serving prison sentences should not vote until they've served their time, most people would find that reasonable.

[Duuring]

That's because we are transferring powers to the directly elected European Parliament - Because people complain the EU is not democratic! The European Commission is appointed by that parliament.

[StevenChilton]

That's because we are transferring powers to the directly elected European Parliament - Because people complain the EU is not democratic! The European Commission is appointed by that parliament.

Of which Britain has around 12% of the MEPs (the majority of which are pro-EU integration, where as the majority of the UK population aren't, as apart from UKIP the only people that would stand to be MEPs for the other parties are those that are pro-EU). The EU Parliament is a veneer of democracy, it merely approves legislation it doesn't propose it, the complete opposite to what the UK Parliament does. Face it, the UK and the rest of the EU have diverging interests. They want more integration, more homogenisation, Britain doesn't. We're not even members of the Euro. The European Parliamentary elections used to be the only election where UKIP did well, purely because people did not want the UK to hand over any more powers to the EU.

[USE4life]

That's because we are transferring powers to the directly elected European Parliament - Because people complain the EU is not democratic! The European Commission is appointed by that parliament.

Of which Britain has around 12% of the MEPs (the majority of which are pro-EU integration, where as the majority of the UK population aren't, as apart from UKIP the only people that would stand to be MEPs for the other parties are those that are pro-EU). The EU Parliament is a veneer of democracy, it merely approves legislation it doesn't propose it, the complete opposite to what the UK Parliament does. Face it, the UK and the rest of the EU have diverging interests. They want more integration, more homogenisation, Britain doesn't. We're not even members of the Euro. The European Parliamentary elections used to be the only election where UKIP did well, purely because people did not want the UK to hand over any more powers to the EU.

There are large amounts of people in the UK who would want further integration. Once again, the majority who do not, are over 50.

Interesting Image

[close]

[Duuring]

StevenChilton, do you really think all other 27 member states and their populations want more integration, and the UK is the only one holding it back? Really?

REALLY?

Besides, yes, 12% of the MEP's are elected by the UK. What's your point? That's unfair? They should elect 51% and have the rest divided under the 27 other members? Would that be fair enough for your taste?

[Augy]

24.7% of people who registered to vote voted for Conservatives. 33.9% of those registered to vote did not vote.

So this is what they call 'representative'. I know elections are a time for us to recognise that representative democracy is an oxymoron (democracy = people themselves rule, representative = a 'majority' of people choose someone to rule over the entire population), but their system isn't even accurate. Anyone with a decent knowledge of statistics knows what a sample is, and knows about sample bias. The conservatives gained 36.9% of a sample that only includes people who have shown their desire for the population to be ruled by a small group of elites. That is by definition a biased sample. Given the wider sample of those who registered to vote, they only got 24.7%, compared to the 33.9% of this sample that did not want anyone to have power over them. So, next time someone says that the majority of Britain wants a Conservative government, direct them to the nearest maths teacher, who will tell them that 24.7 is much less than 50.

Details:

Data taken from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2015/results

Conservative percentage of the vote: 36.9%

Total voter turnout: 66.1% (bottom of page)

0.661 * 0.369 = 0.246861 -> 0.247 = 24.7%

EDIT: Using exact figures rather than percentages, the value is 24.4%

[Charles MackMoose]

Why can't we start our own EU... oh wait

Spoiler

[close]

[USE4life]

#ThannetRigged is trending on twitter. Aliens believed to somehow be involved.

[Duuring]

Augy, what's your point? The current Electoral system in the UK is stupid? We know.

[StevenChilton]

StevenChilton, do you really think all other 27 member states and their populations want more integration, and the UK is the only one holding it back? Really?

REALLY?

Besides, yes, 12% of the MEP's are elected by the UK. What's your point? That's unfair? They should elect 51% and have the rest divided under the 27 other members? Would that be fair enough for your taste?

Yes, most of the other states in the EU do want further integration, that's why most of them are in the Eurozone but the UK isn't. It's why most EU nations are in the Schengen Area but the UK is not. The UK is opted out of a lot of EU integration policy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opt-outs_in_the_European_Union#Economic_and_Monetary_Union_.E2.80.93_Denmark_and_the_United_Kingdom

My point is those 12% of British MEPs can;t do shit to stop policy that is unfavourable to the UK. I'm not arguing for the UK to get more MEPs, I don't even want us to be in the EU. My point is that without the power of veto, which we gave away, the UK can't block decisions that damage our interests.

[MrTiki]

Just to clarify about the human rights act, I feel like it's likely that the Tories could use it as an excuse to leave the EU. They'll try to scrap it, the EU will complain, they'll stir up the media making speeches about how the EU is always telling us what to do, then they'll have the referendum about leaving and, surprise surprise, the population will have been bombarded with enough bullshit to want to leave.

Not sure how likely it is to happen, personally I really hope it doesn't, but unfortunately they can essentially do whatever they want now.

[StevenChilton]

Just to clarify about the human rights act, I feel like it's likely that the Tories could use it as an excuse to leave the EU. They'll try to scrap it, the EU will complain, they'll stir up the media making speeches about how the EU is always telling us what to do, then they'll have the referendum about leaving and, surprise surprise, the population will have been bombarded with enough bullshit to want to leave.

Not sure how likely it is to happen, personally I really hope it doesn't, but unfortunately they can essentially do whatever they want now.

I will quit my job, give all my stuff to charity and emigrate to North Korea if David Cameron recommends the UK should leave the EU during the referendum campaign. That's how sure I am he won't. The Tory party is pro-EU, albeit with a few token eurosceptics who act as Judas goats in order to get eurosceptic voters to vote Tory. 

[USE4life]

Not sure I like the sound of Gove being the one to write the Bill of Rights 

Also new poll

results of the last one

[close]

[Charles MackMoose]

Not sure I like the sound of Gove being the one to write the Bill of Rights 

Also new poll

results of the last one

[close]

my parents are teachers and what the Tories might do concerns them greatly, they hate Gove with a passion.

[Tharan]

Thing is though if Labour has won with the same number of seats/votes as the Tories did people would be protesting/calling for a new election.