When serfs knew their place, there was some logic in sending the Lord of the Manor to speak for them in parliament. The local land owner, the local employer, possibly was the person best suited to auditing the King’s power of taxation and warmongering.
Parliament has been left behind in in the surge of education and equality that has taken place in the last 50 years. We need to uproot the ancient method of choosing a representative.
The great ministries of state are highly technical; there should be true competition amongst those technically qualified to be put in charge of them. There is little more facetious than finding that our Chancellor of the Exchequer requires an accountant to fill in his own tax form.
Yet we continue to vote into office those who can kiss the most babies, we continue to support a system which allows the men in grey suits to allocate the safest seats, where the electorate are most likely to vote on tribal grounds, to their friends.
Can you imagine the English football team being selected on a similar basis – we expect the team to be selected on their ability to fulfil particular positions, not on their gender, nor on their ability to donate money to the FA.
Dawn French as outside midfielder (she’ll be popular with the voters), David Blunkett as striker (showing our commitment to diversity), best put John Prescott in as offensive midfielder (been in the party a long time) and then we need a place for Bernie Ecclestone (given us a lot of money) – OK, he can go in goal……..there would be uproar!
Why then can we not have open competition from highly qualified people for the great offices of state – they can still have allegiance to a party, but let us hear of their formal qualification and achievements, not their gender, not their ‘loyalty to the prime minister’. Let us have no more idiots promoted on the patronage of the Prime minister based on their ability to ensure his survival.
It is the survival of Great Britain that really matters, we as shareholders in UK Plc. should be up in arms and fighting for this, rather than carping about the bath plug requirements of the past.
If we are to have a ‘coup’, let us take advantage of it, and restructure parliament as the professional place it should be to run the country. There should be no place for a re-run of ‘Blair’s Babes’, picked for their gender, no place for the politically adroit footsoldiers, rewarded for their leaflet posting ability, no place for the ‘Buggin’s Turn’ geriatrics, no place for the patronage of titles to enable ‘friends’ to be parachuted into government; a straightforward competitive tender for the various jobs that need filling, including that of Chief Executive.
I want to see a man with real experience of war deciding whether our soldiers need to be killed; I want to see a man who has fought along side them deciding what equipment they need. I want to see a man with exceptional experience of high finance and the wily ways of bankers in charge of our Exchequer.
Leader of the Opposition should be renamed ‘Leader of the Audit team’ – and be voted into office based on his ability to dissect the activities of the Ministries of State – and he will be judged on his ability to point out any wrongdoings on the part of Ministers – not keeping his powder dry in the hope that he might be the next Prime Minister.
There is too much conflict of interest in the present system, too much patronage, and not nearly enough thought for the electorate that supports it.
Anna is the landlady of the Raccoon Arms. She lives in the Monbazillac area of South West France and still takes a keen interest in British politics.
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Start the chant now Ms Raccoon..
“…you don’t know what your’e doing….”
“..Dawn French as outside midfielder (she
Excellent post
….but I am no better than the slugs that cross the soil. I am not worthy. I can but defer to those around me what know better than me about everyfink. I’m happy to live in my little one-up, one-down cave cos it’s the right think to do whylst my betters make all the decions and take all the money soz I can continue to live in my cave – it’s a very nice cave…
I agree with you on this but there is one problem – political parties.
One way round this would be to have an absolute monarchy with a written constitution, the HoL, made up of only those that have inherited their position, propose two people who may become PM and Leader of the Audit Team, who, in turn, must select their people on ability to do the job. Both teams are then put before the population, with abilities and experience listed. The population then decides which team becomes their voice to the Monarch, the other team has the job of keeping them honest.
If the population considers they are not being represented correctly or someone is not doing their job then they can petition the Monarch who can then take action, sacking, criminal proceedings or requiring a new election.
That way we get competent people running things knowing that if they mess up they will be out or in jail. The people also know they have a voice for change.
The above is a quick outline taken from a story I’m writing which has greater detail.
Alas, idealistic. The trouble with the banks and finance houses was that they fell into the hands of people who did not know what they were doing, and all around us it is signal at the topmost levels that too many are too ignorant of their trade. Also, the UK has too much of its private sector in the hands of foreign money merchants. If you recall, the first thing that communist and fascist regimes did was to eliminate the leading intellectual and management of those they conquered. That is New Labours legacy. We are governed by headless chickens.
Superb post! And of course – given that many uneducated and illiterate teenagers now use their paw-prints to sign on the dole and wish to consider themselves way above working-class status these days …………. it is safe to say that we can totally do without the Labour Party from now on ………… As even Wales has shown us this weekend!
Wales is always a good monitor of how crap the UK economy is. If the economy is doing well …………. Wales gets a constant stream of Liverpudlian holiday-makers …………. If the economy is crap -Wales gets a constant stream of Liverpudlian robbers. Only choking!
So – let’s just get the self-made zillionaires with substantial and proven track-records to run the country from now on …………. But none of this Alan Sugar business! And certainly nobody of his ilk! I was really quite horrified to see that little gnome mincing around at Browneye’s back-door this weekend. Christ! That’s all we need!
Demetrius says ………. ”Also, the UK has too much of its private sector in the hands of foreign money merchants.”
Bugger! I keep forgetting all this. First job of course is to reclaim everything from the Arabs ………… And the French …………. And the Russians ………… and the Chinese …………. and ………….. Sod it! Best to emigrate and leave the UK Titanic to find its own level …………. There is no hope.
We should never have given Women the vote, it’s been all downhill since then. Just kidding!
This is why so much has been done to discredit doctors because we are intelligent and kind ( usually) and won’t put up with this kind of shit.