The Decline of Politics

[Harleyman]

Would they also be able to tutor others in generalising and stereotyping,and be totally patronising to others.

 

I grew up in a working class area of Sheffield so I have a clue what I'm talking about. Times change, people basically dont.

People should take an interest in politics and get involved in feeding input to their representatives, letting them know when they think money is being wasted or when cuts to programs such as education and pensions do not meet with their approval then that keeps them well informed.

 

Not taking an interest and spoiling ballot slips wont change anything. Neither will griping about it on the forum Your MPs wont lose a wink of sleep if they never hear from you. They'll just assume you think they're doing a great job and spoiled ballots dont count for anything, just paper for the shredder

[chem1st]

I don't agree.

 

Then perhaps you should change your mind, the statistical evidence gathered by the electoral commission is what I shall be using to influence your opinion...

 

Lots of people who have lived in the same place for years won't have voted, although I did (out of habit) I know several who haven't this time. It had nothing to do with their housing tenure. More to do with the fact that they weren't impressed with any of the options offered.

 

My family lived in private rented housing in South Yorks for a couple of years in the early 70s. The young family across the road from my current home are renting privately and have been there 2+ years. Quite similar except they are probably better off in real terms than we were and they rent a nicer house.

 

Sheffield generally is not a slum. Huge sums were spent on improving all the council owned properties in the city, I drove into Parson X today, and the council houses I passed look much improved, with hard standings, walls and railings. There are also signs of 'gentrification' around the area where I live. Things like 'Sold' signs; new windows and doors; skips outside; gardens being landscaped.

 

Research shows that private renters are very unlikely to even be registered to vote (Due to the lack of secure tenancy - read 'hectic' or 'unstable' and consider 'housing tenure', these people do not even have the ability to call the place they live, 'home'! - let alone settle down and sort everything out and become a member of the community, using their free time to register to vote, and subsequently vote)

 

Lest us not forget than voting was once reserved only for the landowners before the common right got the right to vote.

 

And that only men could vote, before the right was granted unto women!

 

http://julesbirch.wordpress.com/2012/05/02/disenfranchised-by-the-housing-system/ = source of following quote;

 

Research by the Electoral Commission published in December 2011 estimated that six million people were not registered to vote on December 2010 registers, a big increase from previous estimate in 2000 of 3.5 million unregistered voters. The research found a clear link between housing tenure and the accuracy and completeness of the electoral register:

 

‘Completeness ranged from 89 per cent among those who own their property outright and 87 per cent among those with a mortgage, to 56 per cent among those who rent from a private landlord. In relation to accuracy, the rate of ineligible entries at privately rented properties was four times that found at owner occupied addresses.’

 

So 44 per cent of those eight million potential private renter voters – perhaps 3.5 million people – are not registered to vote and potentially even some of those who are registered are ineligible. The Electoral Commission found that moving home is a key factor in this. Only 26 per cent of people who have lived at their current address for less than a year are registered to vote and a third of private renters had moved within the last 12 months. That of course is a direct result of a housing system that makes six-month assured shorthold tenancies the default option for private tenants. Another reason was that registration is lowest in the properties in the worst condition, which again are most often found in the private rented sector.

[Rampent]

What time do the polls open

[Green Web]

I grew up in a working class area of Sheffield so I have a clue what I'm talking about. Times change, people basically dont.

People should take an interest in politics and get involved in feeding input to their representatives, letting them know when they think money is being wasted or when cuts to programs such as education and pensions do not meet with their approval then that keeps them well informed.

 

Not taking an interest and spoiling ballot slips wont change anything. Neither will griping about it on the forum Your MPs wont lose a wink of sleep if they never hear from you. They'll just assume you think they're doing a great job and spoiled ballots dont count for anything, just paper for the shredder

 

No politicians should take an interest in what its electorate want then more people would vote.

[Ms Macbeth]

Then perhaps you should change your mind, the statistical evidence gathered by the electoral commission is what I shall be using to influence your opinion...

 

 

 

Research shows that private renters are very unlikely to even be registered to vote (Due to the lack of secure tenancy - read 'hectic' or 'unstable' and consider 'housing tenure', these people do not even have the ability to call the place they live, 'home'! - let alone settle down and sort everything out and become a member of the community, using their free time to register to vote, and subsequently vote)

 

Lest us not forget than voting was once reserved only for the landowners before the common right got the right to vote.

 

And that only men could vote, before the right was granted unto women!

 

http://julesbirch.wordpress.com/2012/05/02/disenfranchised-by-the-housing-system/ = source of following quote;

 

Research also shows "It is young people, ethnic minorities, people living in private rented accommodation and those living in deprived areas which will be disproportionately affected by these changes. As a result of the government's plans it will, in effect, shut the door on millions of eligible voters."

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/nov/01/electoral-register-missing-millions-of-voters

 

A mixture of reasons, not only those living in privately rented homes. Whilst I fully accept that poor housing can affect people's lives, it is only one factor.

 

I am grateful for the fight for the right to vote by generations of women before me, so I always vote. Even when, like yesterday, I wasn't exactly inspired to.

[PrimalJay]

Talk about going completely off topic then.

[Lucifer]

How many votes would we get if we had an Apathy Party ?.

[MadManMoon]

I think one of the problems is that at the moment some people expect the current government to wave a magic wand and clear up the mess left by labour overnight, without cutting any of the services that were being provided with borrowed money.

 

Rich bankers caused the 'mess' but it is ordinary decent people who didn't cause the mess who are paying for it. This includes you.

 

I suppose you are one of the old school who loves to kneel down and kiss the feet of the rich and powerful.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2132919/Bankers-drowning-money-Out-touch-politicians-Unaccountable-quangocrats-Not-generations-run-Britain-far-removed-common-man.html

[Stoatwobbler]

Politics itself will never be in decline. Only the ability of politicians to reach out to voters and listen to what the voters want.

[chem1st]

Talk about going completely off topic then.

 

How so?

 

People increasingly have precarious housing situations, and this is stopping them from being able to register to vote in the firs place. Let alone participate in so called democracy.