Ah, David "Full of shit" Cameron.
Okay, before I begin, I detest Labour more than any other party on the planet, so to the weak minded - don't assume just because I'm attacking the Tories I'm a Labour fanboy, I'm not, I would quite happily see Labour as a party disbanded and every politician within it begging on the streets.
But anyway, David Cameron, the guy is full of shit.
Yesterday we were being told about how awesome he is because he wants to bring "power to the people", telling us that he had many initiatives to do this, yet the one single initiative that truly brings power to "the people" rather than a minority, proportional representation, he rejects outright. Why? Because he knows he's guaranteed power next election right now, and proportional representation would weaken his power. For those who don't know, the current system, first past the post, allows a party that say only 40% of the population want in power to be able to completely control parliament such that they can pass laws without challenge just as the current Labour government does, we've seen how well that works out. In contrast, proportional representation means that if only 40% of the population support a party, then that party only gets 40% of the power.
So effectively when Cameron says he wants power to the people, what he means is he wants power to some of the people, but not those that don't support him. He wants disproportionate power for the people that do support him.
So now, onto this story, suddenly he's telling us he wants to make the internet integral to our democracy which is absolutely fantastic.
Well, it would be, if it weren't for the fact he also supports 3 strikes without trial meaning you can effectively accuse someone of file sharing 3 times without having evidence that would stand up in court to get them band from taking advantage of these existing and proposed online services that are essential and integral to society and the political process.
Dear David,
Shut the fuck up, and come back when you've actually figured out what you really want. Don't go on about improving democracy when the reality is you're quite content with it staying as is or made worse. Don't go on about embracing technology when you simultaneously support policy that both holds it back and runs counter to improving democracy.
Really, at a time when parliament is in disrepute and some politicians are actually trying to make ammends Cameron should be ashamed at abusing the opportunity for business as usual - say one thing and mean another.
Proportional representation is the single most important change that British politics needs, it means parliament is made up proportionally by the people's feelings rather than a minority, it means an end to tactical voting as people's votes for their preferred party, even if a minority party, actually counts.
Cameron's argument against proportional representation is that it means hung parliaments and backroom deals - as if backroom deals aren't a problem with the current system? As for the hung parliament argument? Well, Canada has had a hung parliament for over 2 years and yet they're the fastest growing economy in the G8, they're also the country that has come by far the best out of the recession in the G8 and haven't had to bail out a single one of their banks, as such their banking sector is healthy and still lending supporting other sectors. They also have some of the most sane and balanced copyright laws on the planet. So why does a hung parliament actually mean an improvement? Because the only laws that get passed in a hung parliament are laws that everyone agrees are for the benefit of the country rather than laws that a minority think are for the benefit of the country as per with Labour right now and as per with the Conservatives under Cameron's proposals.