So I write a letter to my MP...

[GoNz0]

so when do we start the campaign to make the dick resign ?

[Saracen]

Originally Posted by Lid

Apologies if some-one already posted this, but that MP is wrong to claim that 50% of the electorate voted Labour at the last general election. Unless of course he is only referring to his own constituency, but he has not made that clear!

If you include the no-shows, Labour only received 22% of the electorate's vote at the last election. If you exclude the no-shows, it was elected by just 35.3% of those who voted.

You are right, both with the figures and with the point that he didn't make it very clear. He is, though, a politician. They make a career of being deliberately obtuse. If you write statements with built-in wriggle-room, you can always pretend you meant something else when you're picked up on it. Clarity is the very last thing you should expect.

However, in this case, he did say that the reason HE is in Parliament is because 50% of voters voted for the labour party. And the only voters that could have voted for him would be those in his constituency. Those that voted elsewhere couldn't have affected whether he was elected or not. So, while it may not be worded particularly well, even I can't really criticise him on that point. Though I have to say, my immediate reaction was exactly as yours - 50% certainly didn't vote for Labour nationally. Nowhere near 50%, when measured either as a percentage of those that voted, and even less as a percentage of those that could have. That's partly what I meant when I referred to that election as being a sham. It's rigged, in that the system builds in an almost unchangeable bias towards maintaining the status quo of the system, and limiting any real variation to national government to one of two options, neither of whom have much incentive to change the overall system since, between them, it serves so well to keep one ion power and the other in opposition. It does not, in any real sense, reflect national opinion on issues and as such can't really be claimed as a mandate to follow the Party line. That, instead, is a dogmatic political philosophy rather than any real attempt to represent constituents. And that's why Clelland's logic, as well as his sense of appropriate letter-writing style, is flawed.

[MaddAussie]

While your letter was couched in strong terms IMHO it wasn't abusive in the slightest.

I wonder if anyones going to bring it up on question time in Musselburgh on Thursday? Should get some interesting results

Originally Posted by GoNz0

so when do we start the campaign to make the dick resign ?

Oh Goody another by-election!

[G4Z]

I did pick him it on my my reply which I posted earlier in the thread.

Your right though Saracen I realised you could read it that way today, but I still pointed out the 9% swing against him in this constituency last election and pointed out its a Labour stronghold. Your posts have helped me focus my thinking quite a lot so I am sure my next letter to him will be much more insightful, so thanks for that mate!

[GoNz0]

i still think u rock going to the papers, i have been waiting for the local news to say something about it tonight, but they didnt

[Main]

It's a pity Have I got News for You isn't on at the moment, I think this would have made it on there...

Frankly I'm at a loss for words at the response you received, as it's clear to me that you could word a letter to the equivalent affect with much more polite terms. The thing is I can see how your own letter could possibly be construed as a personal attack, since you are blunt and to the point and question the man's integrity directly in more than one paragraph. I can't help but feel that he may have decided that replying to what he decided was abuse was a better idea than answering the hard questions, but even then, as I just said, you could do that much more politely. It shows that he doesn't care, which is disheartening really - it's his job.

In addition I find the mindset of "we have the majority vote so we can do what we like because they support everything we said we'd do" to be dangerous (complacent implementation of silly laws), irrational (not all MP's fully agree with all their party’s' policies so why would their supporters be any different) and plain stupid (you will always have people who vote for the other guys, and like it or not, they are just as important). Then of course there's the normal pitfall of democracy: Just because a majority thinks that something is good or right does not mean that it is good or right.

[Saracen]

Originally Posted by G4Z

.... Your posts have helped me focus my thinking quite a lot so I am sure my next letter to him will be much more insightful, so thanks for that mate!

You're welcome. And if it helps, even in a small way, to discombobulate a politician, so much the better.

[J4MES]

wow... HEXUS ft[political]w

google 'clelland stick vote' and see what pops up this evening...

[TiG]

I salute anyone that challenges things they don't believe in by democratic methods. If you can't challenge what your own MP with a strong letter without drawing them into outburst telling you where you can stick your vote....

Given that we the people are the MP's boss, maybe someone would like to tell the MP in question what would happen if we told our bosses where to stick his set of work where the sun doesn't shine (especially in writing!)

TiG

[SiM]

Originally Posted by J4MES

wow... HEXUS ft[political]w

google 'clelland stick vote' and see what pops up this evening...

qft!!! Its even made the sun
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...cle1367494.ece

[tiggerai]

Spotted in London Lite tonight too

Made me LOL on tube

[Norky]

Some cracking comments on The Sun

Well done David Clelland for telling a young 27 yr old upstart where to shove his vote. You wanted straight talking well live with the reply punk.

I hope one day some non carrying ID card terroist who should have been detained longer but wasn't blows him up.

These lefties preach PC and spout rubbish of things they know nothing about or the reasoning behind it which any person with common sense understands.

I think it should be compulsory for schools to instigate a common sense exam which should run into higher education not just for the lefties but because there are a lot of educated idiots out there!

[tigerboyce]

HAHA you gotta love the sun

Watch out for them terrorists now your famous G4Z

[TheAnimus]

Originally Posted by SiM

qft!!! Its even made the sun
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...cle1367494.ece

You read the current bun?

[G4Z]

Originally Posted by Norky

Some cracking comments on The Sun

I have a feeling that might have come from the Twat-o-tron.

[G4Z]

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/daniel_...of_the_commons

hehe