Problems I can see with voting for Johnson n his right wingers are, are worries about a no deal Brexit crash out, another ten years of crippling and unnecessary austerity, along with one of my biggest concerns as set out page 48 of the tory manifesto ....
Ive cut and pasted probably the best assessment of it doing the rounds on FB ....
If you're a Conservative voter, this post is not for you. If, after everything that this government has done, you're still not convinced to stop voting for them, then there's nothing that my words can do for you. You are lost, as far as I'm concerned. Johnson could shoot a child in the middle of Broad street and you'd still be clutching your blue ribbon, crying "...but Corbyn would be worse!" Feel free to continuing reading, of course; just know that I've given up trying to convince you. I consider it a lost cause.
This is for all the young voters that have registered to vote, but might not actually go out and make a difference on the day. We need you. The country needs you. If you don't vote this time, you may not get a chance to vote, in any meaningful way, again. Yes, the situation really is that grave.
Page 48 of the Conservative manifesto is one of the most dangerous things I've read in recent times.
This page promises to remove power from parliament, in several areas, and places it in the hands of the executive instead. This is specifically designed to stop Boris Johnson from being brought back into the situation when he deselected so many of his own MPs that he couldn't get anything through parliament. In short, it gives power to a government that doesn't have a majority in seats. This is demonstrably undemocratic, but it's only just beginning.
To make matters worse, they're also looking to nullify the courts. It talks about ministers being able to rewrite laws as and when they like. About to do something illegal? Simply change the law and do it anyway. That's the Conservative majority you have to look forward to. A government that can write laws at will, without ever having to ask for parliamentary approval. Remember Brexit being about giving more sovereignty to our parliament, and more power to our courts? Vote for Johnson and you will see both of these things get annihilated. You'll be voting to rip those qualities away.
It also promises to remove the 'Fixed Term Parliament Act', claiming that it has caused "paralysis" in the country. This isn't true, of course. The conservative leaders not respecting the will of parliament, without a decent enough majority to dismiss it, has caused that paralysis. If Johnson hadn't been a coward, and pulled his own bill from parliament, it could have gone through by now, but why would he ever admit to his failings when he can just blame parliament for his own incompetence?
Without the act, Johnson can choose to call a General Election whenever he wants, dissolving parliament for weeks at a time for any reason he chooses. He has already been caught attempting to abuse the current system, trying to force through a huge constitutional change to our country (that will inevitably end with the breakup of the UK) against the will of parliament.
It doesn't stop there, though! They're also introducing honest-to-God gerrymandering! Changing constituency borders to remove as many marginals, between themselves and other parties, as possible. They'll rewrite the constituency boundaries to produce lots of conservative safe seats, ensuring that the game is rigged against their future opponents. The system, combined with the introduction of IDs to vote, is specifically designed to reduce the amount of people that, if they were allowed to vote, would do so against the Conservatives in their thousands.
This is the direction of dictatorship; the trajectory of totalitarianism.
These are not the words I want to use, however. Most can work out which word I'd rather use. Unfortunately, it's not a word that's taken seriously anymore, because we don't think it could ever happen again. We didn't think it would happen in the 1930s either, but the parallels are undeniable.
Page 48 is all about ensuring that, if people vote for a Conservative government this time, you will never be able to get rid of then, no matter what they do. They will be free to do as they please, and there will be no way to stop them. Even if you're a Tory supporter (and, if you are, well done for reading this far! Usually, people don't like reading something that's against their own belief system) you must be able to recognise the fundamental dismantling of our democratic system going on here. One good General Election result for Boris next week, and he might never need another one again.
They're also promising to "champion freedom of expression", which sounds great, but essentially means you can be as racist, homophobic, transphobic, and all-the-other-kinds-of-phobic as you like, without reprisal or consequence. Anyone keeping up with Johnson's glowing written record could probably infer why that's being implemented. It also means that you can continue to deceive the public, produce lies and misinformation about your opponents, pretend to be objective fact checking websites, and you'll be perfectly fine. All bets are off. All is permitted. Truth, decency and accountability die.
It also removes any restrictions on social media collecting data on us, to exclusively share with the Conservatives. What happens when big businesses and powerful governments get so tightly knit? You get "That Word": the word I really want to say, but will never be taken seriously, until it's too late.
There's also a large piece on "sweeping changes to the constitution", talking in general terms about changes to the monarchy, the courts, parliament and every other institution that can currently hold the government to account. They will all be stripped of that power; the Prime Minister will be accountable to no one. No checks and no balances.
I don't need to tell you how serious and terrifying this would be. To put this in perspective, the Prime Minister would have more power to do as he pleases, than the President of the United States of America. Think about that. I don't think the road to dictatorship can be made any clearer.
Though, maybe there is a way that history can make this even more obvious. There is, after all, another '48', from another constitutional change. I talk, of course, about 'Article 48' of the 'Consitution of the Weimar Republic of Germany' (1919 - 1933), which allowed the President to take emergency measures without consent of the Reichstag (the German parliament). It was described in general, abusable terms , just as 'Page 48' is. They both include very similar processes.
I don't have to tell you how it went the first time. I don't have to tell you that history repeats for those that ignore it. I don't have to tell you what "The Word" is.
You already know.
that ^^ should be serious matters of concern for anyone who believes in democracy IMO
www.independent.co.uk
