When death does stalk the barren land,

When death does stalk the barren land,

The stench of rotting carcases rises

Through the pale watery light

Of the dying sun

 

All around is the decay of a dying civilisation.

Hypocrisy rules as leaders wallow

In their own self importance

Waffle rules where once reason reigned

 

Oh Locke where have you gone?

Has that beacon of light been snuffed out?

Are we forever destined to learn nothing?

Hobbes is gone, forgotten, his legacy spent

 

We are left in the land of the blind

Where the one eyed man is king

Sadly floundering in the mire of his own making

His lifeblood slowly ebbing away.

Like a stag caught in the cars headlights

He stood bewildered frozen to the spot

While the inevitable came hurtling towards him.

 

He now lies fatally wounded

While the carrion crow circle around

Waiting, wondering when to strike

While the populace wait; watching the ship of state

Drift aimlessly along.

 

 

Barry Mellish

July 2009

 

General Election 2024 - Time to change the voting system?

 Well, the election is done and dusted and with only a handful results to be declared a few things are patently obvious, to me at least:

1.     The Tories were routed with only 24% of the vote. 

2.     Labour have a stonking majority with 411 (so far) seats they have an overall majority of 177, at the time of writing, so much for my prediction of 55-65!

3.     LibDems had a fantastic evening returning at least 71MPs (up from 8.)

4.     4 Green MPs (sadly not Hélèna)

But looking beyond the numbers of seats it is clear that there was not a massive swing of support to Labour, rather it is a massive swing away from the Tories. Labour only polled 35% of the popular vote whilst returning 63% of MPs. Our antiquated electoral system of first past the post means that a swing of a few votes in a number of seats can result in massive swings numbers of MPs returned for each party.

 We desperately need some form of proportional representation – but which? I like the concept of constituency MPs, someone that we can write and ask to help resolve local issues. It also enables people locally to return an MP that they want; be it Jeremy Corbyn, Shockat Adam, Iqbal Hussain Mohamed etc etc. If we had a pure proportional system there would not be room for these “oddball” candidates and politics would be the poorer. I for one am fed up with hegemony of the “big parties”. 

Having been returned with his massive majority and relatively low share of the popular vote compared to previous governments, I cannot see electoral reform being high on Sir Keir’s agenda. One can but hope, but I do not see the pigs on the runway ready for take-off – turkeys do usually vote for Christmas!