Jury Team Commentary

You would have thought that after 58 months out of a maximum of 60 months in Parliament, the ‘Party Manifesto’ would be ready to go as soon as the General Election is called. But no, it’s not until tomorrow, with a third of the campaign already gone, that the parties will release their pages and pages and pages of false promises upon a ‘wish it were true’ public.

And it is unlikely they will contain any surprises even when they are ready to go.

One party official on Labour’s manifesto was quoted as saying: “It’s practically as long as War and Peace. There’s an awful lot of verbiage, which I’m sure nobody is going to read. I’d like to see it half as long and twice as strong.” ~ Oh dear, that doesn’t bode well.

And don’t expect anything more exciting from the Tories either. The key pledges – for that is all they are – have already been well publicised. Indeed there is concern from Conservative Central Office that the Tories may have peaked too soon in their campaign.

So, have you got your reading glasses to hand, because you’re going to need them in order to check what’s written ‘between the lines’? Typically the ‘Big Bad 3’ are experts at saying what they will do, but with their metaphorical fingers most definitely crossed behind their back.

How many of the Jury Team’s only 30 policies have shown up in the other party’s manifestos of the past? Pretty much all of them! Why are they still not enacted then? Because as we have come to learn with the ‘Big Bad 3’ it is always a case of promises are only promised to woo the voter, not to be expected to be Acts of Parliament. If you asked any MP at the mid-term stage of a parliament, “What have you done in your manifesto and what remains undone?” they would be likely to splutter and use that typical Politician’s way out of anything they don’t want to admit to, the old ‘at all costs don’t answer the question’ ploy.

So, what’s the point of a manifesto then? To be frank, when they’ve proved in the last parliament they can’t be trusted to balance their own accounts let alone the country’s balance of payments, I guess no point at all. Manifestos are clearly ignored by the people, and the politicians and political parties rely on this to trundle on in government doing whatever they want, but not necessarily what they promised.

For a genuinely popular read, for the Jury Team bases it’s policies entirely on opinion polls and therefore de facto referendum of the people, please request a copy of the Jury Team’s own booklet – “WORKING TOGETHER FOR THE PEOPLE POLITICIANS FORGOT” – by entering your details in the Press Enquiries section on www.juryteam.org

Pensioners are unhappy. Trade unionists are unhappy. Students are unhappy. Doctors are unhappy.

The public sector may still the largest employer, but it most definitely is not what it used to be. And with this sentiment more than 10,000 public sector workers made a noisy protest through the streets of Westminster today demanding protection of services and jobs.

The diversity of the protesting mass is what made it so unique. Groups from a dichotomy of interests – the BMA, Unison, National Pensioners Convention, Disability Alliance, NUS – formed a united mass of anger against all three major parties alike, after each has come out this week and prepared the way for cuts to public services upon their return to Westminster.

One GP from Yorkshire expressed his frustration at Westminster in this General Election period – “There is a lot of rhetoric in terms of protecting the NHS, but not much promise”. And he is so right in this assertion. Gordon Brown and David Cameron are yet to properly discuss the relevant issues surrounding the health service and its future funding in their election campaigning; instead preferring to argue about national insurance which the voters see as a non-event. All three party leaders have chosen to avoid proper discussion about solving the deficit and how this will protect rather than remove public services. And amazingly late in arriving to the distraction, Vince Cable decided to weigh into the NI debate on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, losing him considerable credibility for being on the ball, not only with the business leaders who have backed the Tories but also the people who see the matter as a distraction from the real issue of recovery from the deficit debacle.

The Jury Team shares the public’s concern for the future protection of the NHS. They don’t rely on rhetoric. The Jury Team recognise the desperate need to protect the important services for the British taxpayer, otherwise they will be lost from the UK, without return. The Jury Team contest one way to ease the pressure on the NHS budget would be to immediate act to limit the current ease of access to British citizenship. As it stands now, British citizenship is available to foreigners in just 2 years, and with it they gain access to free NHS provision for themselves any number of family. Also, EU visitors to the UK can get free health care, which they don’t get in their own country. In fact the UK is the only country in the EU to have a free NHS. This should be available more sparingly. And the Jury Team suggest that the NHS simply should not be available to non-EU visitors in the UK. To control this entry to the UK should only be allowed with proof of holding private medical insurance in case they need health treatment or hospital care while in the UK. This would put a stop to the UK being the ‘health vacation destination’ it has become, which is draining the NHS of life.

To preserve our public services the next government needs to set restrictions on access that limit abuse in order to continue provision to those who have paid for it, namely British citizens and taxpayers.

Despite their claims, the NHS is not safe in the hands of any Labour, Liberal Democrat or Tory PM. They are not brave enough to tackle this citizenship subject and so under their watch the deficit worsens and the consequent cuts to public services will be inevitable.

It was like one big noisy stand-off at different venues in London today as the two heavy-weights (no not Prescott this time) squared up against each another … of course, from the comfort of their own media tents.

So, is it Jobs or Services that will suffer under a Conservative government? Is that the £6billion question wrapped up in the core of the whole 1% NI wrangle? Who will go for their gun first in this stand-off between Labour and Conservative at this early stage of the General Election campaign?

Labour is using the whole issue to take political-point-scoring-pot-shots at George Osborne, for they see him as weak on his own defence. Cameron in response kept the spotlight clearly on him, in an “I’ll win or lose this election myself, but I’ll be damned if I lose it on weak lieutenants”. Cameron has clearly taken the decision he has no confidence in Osborne, or at least not enough to let him try to fend off the Labour salvos against, what is comparatively not a massive issue in the grand scheme – i.e. to find £6 billion from somewhere in the economy. For whoever takes up the mantle of Government come 7th May, they will be spending and cutting far more than a simple £6 billion.

But these are the wants and ways of the two biggest parties, and the Lib Dems if they can get a word in, play the ‘game’ of general electioneering. There you have the status quo of British politics, and nothing will change until the British electorate do something about it and send better people to Westminster.

When a party is in opposition for so long, as the Conservatives have been, it is noticeable how they try to emulate the party in power during it ascendance.

Blair did it leading up to 1997, taking on an almost Tory-esque allure, and a Thatcherite superiority.

And Cameron is doing it now. There are plenty of signs that David Cameron aspires to rule in the same manor as Blair, keeping a small close-knit collective of friends, whilst cutting out most of the Shadow Cabinet. Following in Tony Blair’s footsteps he has single-mindedly concentrated on perception change of his party – the people must ‘like’ us – instead of the developing the mechanics for good government. By all accounts he has obsessed about the ugly process of winning the general election and keeping the credentials needed in the background.

One thing that should scare everyone. It will feel like there is no change at the top, just the faces look different. There will be no referendum on EU membership. No effective grip on managing the economy. No reduction in the number of MPs and the cost of parliament. No change in the voting process to proportional representation. No freedom for MPs to vote with their best judgment (the Whips will still control at every division bell). No caps to donations to political parties (more subterfuge as with Lord Ashcroft). No referendums if the public muster 5% of the electorate on petition to the goverment. No preventing of Britain ‘gold-plating’ the many EU directives that are sent over from Brussels. Indeed none of the sensible and necessary 30 policies proposed by Jury Team will happen under a Conservative “same as Labour” Government.

The need to vote Independent of the BigBad3 parties on 6th May has nothing less than the good future of Britain at its core!! Otherwise, “Goodnight GB” (Gordon Brown) might translate into ‘Goodnight GB” (Great Britain).

The coming General Election couldn’t come sooner. Well it could have, but Gordon Brown was scared to ask the country for a real (look, there’s that word he loves to use when talking statistics) mandate to prove he should be PM.

Britain needs a new government, if only because it is looking exhausted. For almost 3 years Gordon Brown has been the 15th Prime Minister in office not “Generally elected” by the people, out of the 26 PM’s who have held the post since 1900.

Events have been tough for Mr Brown – he himself has survived 3 separate attempts to remove him, and he’s lost 8 of the original 22 members of his first Cabinet – some only just making it to the calling of the election such was their performance so dour.

Jury Team want to see MPs meet to elect, by secret ballot, a person who will be recommended to the monarch to be Prime Minister. This would avoid general elections polarising into personality contests rather than focusing on the key and especially long term issues facing this country. This last point more important than ever given the state of the economy.

Britain also needs a new parliament, and this is because of how it has behaved on Brown’s watch. Branded, even before it’s completion as the most ‘rotten’ in 100 years, it will be hard for Gordon Brown, no matter how much he smiles his way through the next 30 days of the campaign, to convince people that their lives and the future of Britain are safe in his hands.

Then again, maybe Gordon Brown has a trick up his sleeve. He’s already started to play it. He was taught by the best of the best and took over the mantle from this mentor 3 long and painful years ago. This is …. the art of ‘deceipt’. Tell the electorate what they want, but don’t necessarily deliver it. Just look good in office.

As one senior civil servant put it recently – “Labour’s talks about transforming public services has and will remain promises not just which they had no idea how to achieve, but which they knew they had no idea of how to do …. They had targets which they must have known were undeliverable. In fact, there was a deep underlying cynicism. This was all to do with politics rather than government”.

This will serve as an epitaph from the Civil Service to Gordon Brown – former Prime Minister come May 7th 2010.

Who can vote?
Only citizens of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland are allowed to vote in the General Election. You must also be resident in a constituency, and on the electoral register. Further, if it is more than 15 years since you last lived in Britain, you will no longer be eligible to vote.

Who can’t vote?
Some people are not eligible to vote. Members of the House of Lords are barred, as are prisoners, those held in secure hospitals as a result of a crime, or those “unlawfully at large”. Anyone convicted of electoral fraud or other malpractice will be prevented from voting for five years. Also, people with a severe mental illness who are “unable to understand the voting procedure” are ineligible.

How do I get on the electoral register?
The register is put together once a year, but amended regularly throughout it. Around August or September each year every household receives an electoral registration form or is visited by someone from the electoral registration office. You should fill out all the details on the form, including everyone in the household who is eligible to vote, even if they are temporarily away from home. If you have not received a form – perhaps because you have moved house or are homeless – you can pick one up from the electoral registration officer. Every local authority has one. You can register to vote up to 11 days before polling day.

To find out whether you are already on the register, contact your local electoral registration office, who can tell you.

It is against the law to give false information on the electoral registration form, or to withhold information if the electoral registration officer asks for it.

How do I vote?
In the run-up to polling day, you will receive a polling card (unless you have made other arrangements – of which more below). The card will tell you where your polling station is and the hours it will be open on the day. You won’t need the card to vote, although it may make the process easier.

You sign the register at the polling station and are given a ballot paper. Then simply go into the booth and mark a cross in the relevant boxes.

What if I am disabled?
Your local authority is obliged to provide help for disabled voters, if you choose to vote in person rather than by proxy (see below). If you are partially sighted they must provide a large-print version of the ballot paper, and if you are blind or partially sighted they must provide equipment that will allow you to fill in the ballot paper without assistance.

If you are physically disabled, or unable to read, you are allowed to take a companion to help you fill out and submit the form. The companion must be a registered voter and must make a signed declaration of this. He or she cannot help more than one disabled voter per election. The presiding officer at the polling station must be satisfied that you do need assistance in order to vote. You can also ask the presiding officer to mark the form on your behalf.

What if I am unable to attend on the day?
You can apply for a postal vote. You can do this by filling out a form available at www.aboutmyvote.co.uk or from your electoral registration office. You will need to provide your full name, date of birth, the address you are registered at and the address where the ballot paper must be sent. You must also state whether you intend to vote by post for a single election, for a given period, or indefinitely, and sign and date the application.

Your application must be received at least 11 working days before the poll. You will receive a ballot paper through the post, with a declaration of identity that you must sign in the presence of a witness who must also print and sign.

Proxy voting
Certain groups are eligible to vote by proxy – that is, to have someone else submit their vote for them. These people are: members of the armed forces; overseas voters; people who would need to journey by sea or air to cast their vote; people whose occupation or that of their spouse or civil partner will prevent them voting in person (for example oil rig workers; evidence will be needed from employers); or blind or otherwise physically disabled voters (you will need to provide evidence of your condition).

If your application for postal or proxy voting is declined, you can appeal, as long as you applied for a period rather than a specific election. You need to respond to the notification within 14 days of receiving it and specify your grounds.

How is the winner selected?
British parliamentary elections are first-past-the-post; i.e. the candidate with the most votes takes full control of the seat – not necessarily a majority (as there may be more than two candidates), just more votes than anyone else. It doesn’t matter whether they only win by a few votes (although in that case a recount is likely, to ensure that the count is right), they will be in power. Some – notably the Liberal Democrats and the Electoral Reform Society – suggest that this is unfair, and want some sort of proportional representation, as used in most European parliaments.

What if the party I voted for doesn’t win?
That’s how it goes, alas. But if you think the result of the election is illegitimate, you can challenge the outcome. You need four or more of you to submit an election petition at the Election Petitions Office of the Royal Courts of Justice, or the Court of Session in Scotland. It will cost you £120 and needs to be submitted within 21 days of the election.

If at any stage in the campaign you are concerned about fraud or suspicious behaviour – for example if you receive postal vote forms for two constituencies – you should report it to the Electoral Commission. Lots more information is available from their website.