tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6385595.post1150619847434187564..comments2023-10-10T11:50:55.402+00:00Comments on Marcus Wood: Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6385595.post-22695280423114797742009-06-09T13:05:02.518+00:002009-06-09T13:05:02.518+00:00you-gov, schmoo-gov. I get their questionnaires, a...you-gov, schmoo-gov. I get their questionnaires, and the answers I give (mostly however, I seem to never be their target demographic, so I suspect these things are just as dodgy as making it all up entirely, meaning that they completely skew the demographic they want on a poll - ie: ask registered Libdem voters about Tory policy) depend on, for example, the mood I'm in, the letters page of the HE, or the latest annoying post from, say, the likes of regular commenters on this site.<br /><br />However, Marcus, you simply have got to stamp down hard on the mostly useless bunch of Tories currently in Torbay Town Hall if you want to do at all well in the Autumn (we can hope!) general election. This nonsense with Tito ... filling all the posts with masons, or with people who are either too ill to attend (so a mason has to deputise for them) or too incompetent (so a mason has to tell them what to do before every meeting) or are just completely invisible to the rest of us (does Cllr Manning actually exist?), or - finally - are completely and utterly incompetent in any case ... must be stopped. <br /><br />The mayor is ineffective and the cabinet is made up of complete lightweights (with the possible exception of Cllr Lewis, who doesn't breathe the same air as the rest of us anyway). <br /><br />And this from a Tory voter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6385595.post-38984278535938346692009-06-02T20:39:57.683+00:002009-06-02T20:39:57.683+00:00In todays YouGov poll _ Support for PR : Amongst C...In todays YouGov poll _ Support for PR : Amongst Conservative voters: Support: 40% Oppose: 33% <br /><br />Overall / All parties : 52% FOR 20% AGAINST. The rest are don't knows .<br /><br />It looks like the Lib Dems are more in tune with the voters than you are Marcus !Barrie Woodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05308278683431698206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6385595.post-83912474572847935622009-06-02T19:19:45.961+00:002009-06-02T19:19:45.961+00:00Some might sat right now the biggest political bun...Some might sat right now the biggest political bunfight right now is within the (again) split Tory council group !!<br /><br />As for reform at Westminster, what you call boring, I see in STV a system offering electors not only a choice between parties, but choices between candidates of the same party. Every vote actually counts and shapes the outcome locally. Further, this avoids having members elected from party lists, which puts power in the hands of the party and not the electorate - never a great idea.<br /><br /><br />Of course, this would lessen the ability to try to 'buy' seats, as currently happens now with the Belize based Lord Ashcroft pumping huge sums into marginal seats. It also lessens the prospect of negative voting. That is voting to keep another party out, rather casting a positive vote for a party you support as first choice. That happens in a good number of constituencies across the UK with the FPTP system. But the 'fearless' reforming Tory that is Marcus Wood calls 'fair votes' boring ! Hmmm...<br /><br /><br />Cameron too has nothing to say on an elected second chamber, the limiting of party political spending / individual donations. He still prefers to be the party of 'big money'. Should electoral contests be a battle of political ideas or a contest between parties with the biggest advertising budgets?<br /><br />Of course, on the royal prerogative and fixed term parliaments I can agree with DC. But Cameron's 'reforms' would be ones to suit the needs of his party and not necessarily those needed by a politically disaffected country.<br /><br />I agree too on your analysis of UKIP. Their last EU intake was hardly a band of morally and financially upright citizens was it ? However, I still wait for you Marcus to say who it is you think your party can align with in the EU following the departure from the EPP. I'll not be be too critical of you on this as I'm not sure Haugue and Cameron really know as yet. It will, however, put you on the fringes of influence in Brussels.Barrie Woodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05308278683431698206noreply@blogger.com