Muldoon Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I would love to fire Nick Clegg at a brick wall from a very large cannon, the useless numpty... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andygardener Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Interesting topic esme. I think the basic idea that if someone blatantly lies to get elected there should be the possibility of a recall is a sound one. However the reality of the parliamentary system makes it a bit more complicated. As an example I'm sure Nick Clegg would have lost his seat in a recall over tuition fees, however his manifesto was no longer entirely his to control as the voters at large had decided by the way they voted that a coalition would be necessary so even though he broke lib dem pledges he was (in my view anyway) working in the best interests of the country by ensuring that the lib dems would have a brake on the worst excesses of what the right of the tory party may have pushed in a minority government. Also while we all have a constituency MP they also wear potentially a number of hats, ministers, committee members and as in the Nick Clegg example I'm unaware of any real complaints about him as a constituency MP, merely as Deputy PM and lib dem leader. I'd can't back it up with concrete figures but I would think that the vast majority of animus towards any given MP stems from issues relating to their minesterial or shadow minesterial roles, or prominent support/opposition to national issues rather than constituency issues. If that is the case then those constituencies with prominent MP's could face massive lobbying/outside organised protests to hold recalls even if they were by and large happy with the performance of their MP at a constitueny level. I think in the case of criminal acts recall/dismissal should be automatic (not sure if this the case already in the commons?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esme Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Could you substantiate that bit. Was the promise in any election manifesto? Did just certain MPs promise it. How many were elected on that promise?... Well there's Labour's manifesto Labour party manifesto 2010 Restoring trust in politics We know that the political system has let people down and there can be no return to business as usual at Westminster. Our Manifesto sets out plans to give people a right to recall MPs who let them down, a referendum on moving to the alternative vote for the House of Commons and a referendum on a democratic Second Chamber and a free vote in Parliament on reducing the voting age to 16. Sadly the link for the manifesto download doesn't seem to work Conservatives - http://www.conservatives.com/Policy/Where_we_stand/Cleaning_Up_Politics.aspx We will bring forward legislation to introduce a power of recall, enabling voters to force a by-election in cases of serious wrongdoing.it's also on the bottom of page 65 of their manifesto but thats a PDF and I can't show it on here and the Liberal Democrats http://network.libdems.org.uk/manifesto2010/libdem_manifesto_2010.pdf Give you the right to sack MPs who have broken the rules. We would introduce a recall system so that constituents could force a byelection for any MP found responsible for serious wrongdoing. We are campaigning for this right of recall to be introduced to the European Parliament tooI couldn't find an online version that wasn't pdf or some peculiar application so I can't link to it but it's on page 89 So that's the 3 main players all saying they want this in various forms in their respective manifesto's As for who was voted for on the back of this, I have no idea, I know it affected who I voted for but I can't speak for anyone else. As for it being easy to get rid of someone based on the idea that only 40% of their constituents voted for them, personally I doubt it would be easy, but I'm happy to be corrected on that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anywebsite Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I've sent the email, also shared the link on my facebook & twitter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSmith Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Well only if they didn't do their job, or broke the rules, or went back on their manifesto pledges and enough of your fellow constituents agreed of course. Do you think MP's might listen to what their constituents want a bit more if we could give them the sack ? After all if you didn't do your job then it's unlikely your boss would wait until five years after your hiring before selecting someone to replace you. Well before the election the right to recall was a big issue and politicians were falling over themselves to promise it. Well last Friday a bill to do this, although with severe limitations, failed to be debated for lack of time, it's almost as if they aren't keen on the idea now the elections over. Plus the limitations put the right to oust an MP in the hands of parliamentary committees and the party whips, which is pretty much no change and if anything gives more power to the party whips rather than the people who elect politicians to office. If you would like this right, email your MP, if you aren't bothered then don't, your choice. Here's a link to make it easier, there's even a ready made letter all it needs is for you to send it or not http://action.unlockdemocracy.org.uk/page/speakout/demandrecall I think it's a good idea myself so I've sent one, full in the knowledge that with my particular MP I'll be wasting my time as they'll follow party line no matter what, but at least they can't say that no one wants this. It would be nice to have an MP let alone have the ability to sack one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeMaquis Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Well there's etc .. Thanks for that. I notice both coalition partners talk of serious wrongdoing which sounds a bit of a cop-out as that sounds subjective and the MP might have been jailed anyway if it's really serious. The Labour one is much wider but then they got so much flak after the expenses scandal it had to be. It'll be interesting to see what happens when there is a scandal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnvqsos Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Well only if they didn't do their job, or broke the rules, or went back on their manifesto pledges and enough of your fellow constituents agreed of course. Do you think MP's might listen to what their constituents want a bit more if we could give them the sack ? After all if you didn't do your job then it's unlikely your boss would wait until five years after your hiring before selecting someone to replace you. Well before the election the right to recall was a big issue and politicians were falling over themselves to promise it. Well last Friday a bill to do this, although with severe limitations, failed to be debated for lack of time, it's almost as if they aren't keen on the idea now the elections over. Plus the limitations put the right to oust an MP in the hands of parliamentary committees and the party whips, which is pretty much no change and if anything gives more power to the party whips rather than the people who elect politicians to office. If you would like this right, email your MP, if you aren't bothered then don't, your choice. Here's a link to make it easier, there's even a ready made letter all it needs is for you to send it or not http://action.unlockdemocracy.org.uk/page/speakout/demandrecall I think it's a good idea myself so I've sent one, full in the knowledge that with my particular MP I'll be wasting my time as they'll follow party line no matter what, but at least they can't say that no one wants this. I think it is silly as an MP represents the constituency,and many issues will please some and alienate others.It sounds lie something that attracts cranks where it would seem they make unreasonable demands on their MP.Give the poor lad five twelve month to prove their spunk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anywebsite Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Meg Munn's office emailed me back asking for my full postal address, there didn't seem to be a place to put it on the website. So edit the email & make sure you include your full posral address at the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anywebsite Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 I got a letter from my MP, Meg Munn, today. I'll scan it & type it up tomorrow. She didn't really say whether she supported it or not, just said there wasn't enough time to debate it. I'll have to send her another email, see what her views are on the issue & what she's going to do to try make sure that it does get debated. I wish they could reply by email, it is 2012, it's much cheaper, easier & faster. I'll keep the thread updated with my progress, it's important to know where our local MPs stand on this issue. I encourage other people to do the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vague_Boy Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Well only if they didn't do their job, or broke the rules, or went back on their manifesto pledges and enough of your fellow constituents agreed of course. You can fire your MP. At an election. Unfortunately too many people vote for the colour of the rosette. "My grandfather voted XXXX, my dad voted XXXX and I've always voted XXXX". Corrupt shyster politicians just love people like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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