Compulsory Voting

[Flat in Fifth]

Tangential to the [url]PH Political Party thread|http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=216236&f=141&h=0[/url] it is obvious that there is a significant disatisfaction with UK political parties and possibly even the UK system.

What do PH members think about the idea that was floated concerning the possibility of making voting compulsory with the addition of a "none of the above" option on the ballot paper.

I believe this is the situation in Oz.

Would this ensure Labour in power for ever which is my fear.

Not:If subject already discussed just point me in the correct direction and I'll go back to sleep. Eye Thang yew.

FiF

[nonegreen]

If we had compulsory voting and none of the above then we would have lots of independants in Parliament and no overall majority for any politicla party. Government would move more slowly with evolutionary legislation and much more quickly with emergency legislation.

[timmy30]

I would far rather that voting be available to all, but that you had to apply in order to vote.

I think that people who are genuinely disinterested shouldn't be forced to vote. It's a right, but it should not be a compulsion.

[scorp]

nonegreen said:

If we had compulsory voting and none of the above then we would have lots of independants in Parliament and no overall majority for any politicla party. Government would move more slowly with evolutionary legislation and much more quickly with emergency legislation.

Couldn't 2 or more rounds of voting eliminate that, first round of voting gives 3 top parties, second round of voting is amongst those ?

[peterpeter]

dont think its a good idea unless you are over 25 and pay tax.

[timmy30]

peterpeter said:

dont think its a good idea unless you are over 25 and pay tax.

agree with that. Maybe 21 though, but certainly the tax thing applies.

Personally I think that you should have to pay a small fee to vote something affordable say £50.

[scorp]

peterpeter said:

dont think its a good idea unless you are over 25 and pay tax.

I like the idea of 'voter points' myself, the more you contribute to society (taxes, job, community work, etc) the more votes your vote is worth.

Don't think labour will go for that somehow considering a large part of their voter base probably wouldn't be eligable for any points.

[r988]

why bother with 'none of the above'

In Australia you put down what you want, if you don't like any of them you just scrawl 'your all bastards' (or phrase of your choice, or put nothing) across the PAPER and it counts as an invalid vote. Easy.

We have to force a vote due to the small population though, it would be easy for one group to gain an advantage if it wasn't compulsory, or so the theory goes...

[timmy30]

r988 said:

'your all bastards' ..

Have we stumled across a name for the proposed PH party?

[anniesdad]

timmy30 said:

r988 said: 'your all bastards' .. Have we stumled across a name for the proposed PH party?

If we have, let's at least spell it correctly!

It's "You're all bastards".

[JagLover]

Flat in Fifth said:

Would this ensure Labour in power for ever which is my fear.

Of course it would

But apart from that it is entirely the wrong principle, voting is not a chore, it is a privilege.

[JagLover]

I personally think we went the wrong direction when the mass franchise came into affect.

Voting should not be an automatic right, but be earned by becoming a productive member of society (this is not exclusively a monetary measure, a housewife with children would get the vote )

[timmy30]

JagLover said:

I personally think we went the wrong direction when the mass franchise came into affect. Voting should not be an automatic right, but be earned by becoming a productive member of society (this is not exclusively a monetary measure, a housewife with children would get the vote )

What like in StarShip troopers? "Military sevice guarentees citizenship. Would you like to know more?"

>> Edited by timmy30 on Friday 21st October 12:39

[JagLover]

Starship Troopers is an interesting film isn't it. On the surface pure B movie fun, but it is set in a very interesting view of the future which has some aspects many PH's seem to like.

They have for instance restored corporal punishment, and it is an interesting idea that citizenship must be 'earned'

[timmy30]

JagLover said:

Starship Troopers is an interesting film isn't it. On the surface pure B movie fun, but it is set in a very interesting view of the future which has some aspects many PH's seem to like. They have for instance restored corporal punishment, and it is an interesting idea that citizenship must be 'earned'

I read the film as being based on the Roman social model, which was then grafted onto a futuristic American state.

When the film first came out ( about 6-7 years ago) I was impressed at how it was prediciting the eventual merging of TV and internet content which is now well underway.

Apparently the US audience were somewhat unimpressed with the films satirisation of some of the key American social values. As you say on one level a B movie bug splat and on another a rather insightful political satire.

[mondeoman]

JagLover said:

Starship Troopers is an interesting film isn't it. On the surface pure B movie fun, but it is set in a very interesting view of the future which has some aspects many PH's seem to like. They have for instance restored corporal punishment, and it is an interesting idea that citizenship must be 'earned'

The book is much, much better!

[D-Angle]

Flat in Fifth said:

Would this ensure Labour in power for ever which is my fear.

Yep, the only reason they want to introduce postal, online and even text voting () is because the figures told them that if everyone who could vote did vote, Labour would always win.

Have I spelt 'gerrymandering' right?

[scorp]

Robocop had some funny political satire in it aswell in the form of TV news clips (e.g. nuclear powerstation blowing up in the brazillian rainforest, or the adverts for factor 3000 sunblock, etc). Same director i beleive.

[pdV6]

D-Angle said:

text voting ()

Blimey! They're not serious are they?
[sarcasm]
Can't see any way that could be abused...
[/sarcasm]

[Einion Yrth]

"It's not the people who vote that count. It's the people who count the votes." attributed to Joseph Stalin, but probably not his.