unbeliever Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Ignoring brexit for a moment, if the majority of an MP's constituents are concerned about the high levels of immigration and their MP votes against controlling the levels of immigration, then the MP wouldn't have been representing the interests and concerns of their electorate, so wouldn't have fulfilled the role for which they were appointed by the people. Depends. The MPs job is to be as informed and wise as possible on these matters. We select them not only for their views but their wisdom, diligence and such. An MP will likely, from time to time, reach the firm conclusion that what his/her electors want and what will best serve them are at odds. If his/her electors feel strongly enough about the matter, they will replace said MP at the next election with one specifically promising to carry out their will on the matter in question, then they can expect him/her to vote accordingly. With out such a manifesto or similar promise, our MPs are entitled and indeed expected to go against the wishes of their electors on occasion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinfoilhat Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 According to this. http://www.parliament.uk/about/mps-and-lords/members/mps/ They are there to represent the interests and concerns of the electorate. Let me know when the majority start doing that and not just towing the party line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unbeliever Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Let me know when the majority start doing that and not just towing the party line. You're free to vote for an independent who has no party line to tow, or to stand yourself if there's nobody to represent your views. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apelike Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 ---------- Post added 16-11-2016 at 20:05 ---------- Actually you need to be corrected on that. One of the lead litigants, Deir Dos Santos, actually voted to leave. I think you may have misread what I wrote. ".. or those who took it to the high court." Which would also include Deir Dos Santos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petminder Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Depends. The MPs job is to be as informed and wise as possible on these matters. We select them not only for their views but their wisdom, diligence and such. An MP will likely, from time to time, reach the firm conclusion that what his/her electors want and what will best serve them are at odds. If his/her electors feel strongly enough about the matter, they will replace said MP at the next election with one specifically promising to carry out their will on the matter in question, then they can expect him/her to vote accordingly. With out such a manifesto or similar promise, our MPs are entitled and indeed expected to go against the wishes of their electors on occasion. I think most are selected because of the party they belong to and not because the electorate think they are wise, and whilst they do go against the wishes of the electorate, I have seen nothing that supports the idea that they entitled or expected to do so. The reason they are so refiled by the people is their unwillingness to respect the will of the people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinfoilhat Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 You're free to vote for an independent who has no party line to tow, or to stand yourself if there's nobody to represent your views. Are your views represented? Did you want a war in Iraq - how did you MP vote? Do you think that would be helpful, umpteen parties or 650 individuals screaming to heard. Dear god it would be worse than Italy! Do you think a labour MP with a thwacking great majority, parachuted in from oxbridge gives a tupenny toss what their constituents think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unbeliever Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Are your views represented? Did you want a war in Iraq - how did you MP vote? Do you think that would be helpful, umpteen parties or 650 individuals screaming to heard. Dear god it would be worse than Italy! Do you think a labour MP with a thwacking great majority, parachuted in from oxbridge gives a tupenny toss what their constituents think? I think most are selected because of the party they belong to and not because the electorate think they are wise, and whilst they do go against the wishes of the electorate, I have seen nothing that supports the idea that they entitled or expected to do so. The reason they are so refiled by the people is their unwillingness to respect the will of the people. It's up to us to use our votes wisely. That's the only way things work. They can get away with playing with us for a while, but it comes crashing down eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Litotes Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Are your views represented? Did you want a war in Iraq - how did you MP vote? Do you think that would be helpful, umpteen parties or 650 individuals screaming to heard. Dear god it would be worse than Italy! Do you think a labour MP with a thwacking great majority, parachuted in from oxbridge gives a tupenny toss what their constituents think? Did you express your opinion to your MP? Did you follow up to find out why your MP voted the way they did? No, I didn't think so. If you ask your MP to vote one way and they don't there should be a transparent reason why they didn't - contrary to opinion on here - we do not delegate choice into their hands - we ask them to represent us. This is why many MPs will vote against the Article 50 proposal - after all, nearly 50% should, shouldn't they? Or perhaps more... ---------- Post added 16-11-2016 at 22:14 ---------- ...We select them not only for their views but their wisdom, diligence and such... No we don't - we elect them to represent our views in Parliament. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petminder Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 (edited) It's up to us to use our votes wisely. That's the only way things work. They can get away with playing with us for a while, but it comes crashing down eventually. My MP was selected by the labour party and he won't stop being my MP until he decides he no longer wants the job, my vote can't be used wisely. It would be nice to see if the loyal labour voters continue to select him if he ignores their decision to leave the EU. Edited November 16, 2016 by Petminder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unbeliever Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 My MP was selected by the labour party and he won't stop being my MP until he decides he no longer wants to position, my vote can't be used wisely. If the majority of your fellow constituency electors are so enamoured of the Labour party that they consistently support their candidates, then that's as it should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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