Does anyone actually give a monkey's about these? It looks like they've taken a turn for the shambolic.



http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/aug/0 ... -elections

I had thought we'd have seen some genuine oddballs throw their hats into the ring by now but the candidates so far seem like a pretty dreary bunch. Wasn't this one of Dan Hannan and Douglas Carswell's bright ideas to revitalise democracy and stir the proles from their apathy? Other than triggering a few unnecessary by-elections, it doesn't seem as if it's going to achieve much. I don't even think I'll bother to vote.

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Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.

It's a shambles. At least two otherwise sensible candidates have had to stand down because of juvenile convictions - one as long ago as 1966, long since discharged and removed from the record, but still enough to disallow his candidature.
It looks like utter incompetence on the part of ministers. Rushed, flawed legislation, again.

I was just reading about that over at LabourList. Ludicrous.



http://labourlist.org/2012/08/the-farci ... b-ashford/

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Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.

Most of the candidates are falling from the same tree, members of the establishment, the great and the good, those who like to sit on committees.

BTW, did we ever get hairdressers into the Lords as promised by Tone?

I care about these because they're a really bad idea even if they're organised competently.

I can see why Hannan likes them. Give the people a vote where you reckon they're going to vote your way. See also "referendum on the EU now". In other respects, hand it all over to your mates on long contracts, with as little regulation as possible.

To be fair to Carswell, he did acknowledge in a Guardian article that local referenda would be a check on the right's privatisation agenda, which fewer people liked than the right thought. But I don't think he backed that up with any calls for referenda on eg the health bill.

The other thing putting people off is the enormous amount of money you have to fork out if you want to stand. I believe UKIP is fielding candidates but not sure how many and in which counties. It's a £5000 deposit which you could easily lose if you were an independent candidate or even from an established political party.

Some people have said it ought not to be about party politics but TBH with a deposit like that you aren't going to attract very many hopefuls.

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Most of our so-called reasoning consists in finding arguments for going on believing as we already do.
"Emmett is able to write fairly well, he clearly isn't unintelligent overall" - Quote MALCO - Wed Sep 14, 2011 9:57 pm

You know, Emmett, when you're right you're right. Far as I can see, this is just another way for career politicos and party stalwarts to keep in the game.

Is the UKIP guy going for it in Lincolnshire or East Yorks? Yer man up that way (Godfrey Bloom?) seemed to have a regular slot on the local paper's letters pages up that way, usually pontificating about whatever had pissed him off that week.

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Ten seconds... the pain begins.

Fifteen seconds... you can't breathe.

Twenty seconds... you give up and turn off the Jeremy Vine show.

Shit I knew the EDL were putting up Kevin Carroll, but I didn't know UKIP were going for it too. Bang goes law and order then.

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That subtle admixture of the absurd and the surreally plausible...

Looks like these elections are all set to be a smash hit with the public.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... mbles.html

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Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.

Christ, I thought the European Elections were bad for turnout.

All that advertising budget they cut.... was that a good idea?

I expect that only the hang em and flog em brigade will be the only group out in force. I'll be voting for whoever is most liberal.

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"We were only following orders" - Atos.

Quite. Low turn-outs are normally good news for the right, aren't they. Given as the
Tory here is ex-Ukip I'll be turning up to vote labour. Hopefully it'll make it harder for the police force to be handed to/stolen by G4S and the like.

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MY COMMENTS ARE FROM THE HORSES MOUTH AND ARE ALL FACTS

So a splurge of advertising, and loads of articles in their favourite papers?

I reckon the turnout will be a bit higher.

Holding any kind of elections in November is pretty stupid, canvassing or holding public meetings when it's dark and cold in the evenings is not a great idea.

Here in Derbyshire the Labour candidate stood down because he had a brush with the law when he was a teenager but after taking legal advise he has been re-instated as the Labour candidate.

Derbyshire is an extremely large county but a lot of the county is rural so most of the potential electorate live in either Derby or Chesterfield. I would have thought which ever candidate does well in Derby and a couple of the large towns should win quite easily so there is no incentive for the candidates to go off campaigning in all the small villages and towns that make up the county. Once elected the crime commissioner is likely to concentrate on issues that effect the more urban areas because otherwise they will be kicked out at the next set of elections.

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www.newshuddlines.blogspot.com

The turnouts in by elections areas may be higher but bar that everywhere else is going be dismal.

Awful idea.