Wednesday 23 March 2011

AV: VOTING 'YES' IS DANGEROUS

I am a natural liberal; a live-and-let-live sort of person. Our capitalist economy needs to be regulated; society must look after those in need; foreign policy should be 'ethical' and the role of Government is to ensure we are protected and to pursue policies that will make us a happier, more contented, society. With regard to the AV Referendum, my natural inclination has been that " Any movement towards PR is a to be welcomed . Election results will be a more accurate reflection of the will of the electorate "

But, think on sunshine! Be very careful what you wish for. Do we want to have a true reflection of " The will of the people " ?  The people wouldn't have supported the recent, UN-backed, action in Libya. The people would want to restore capital punishment and 'throw-away-the-key' prison sentences. The people would string up suspected paedophiles by the goolies. The people's immigration policy would have decimated the NHS. Very right-wing, misguided and dangerous. The leader-writers of the gutter-press would be running the country.

The man-in-the-street agrees with, but doesn't vote, BNP for two main reasons. Firstly, that party, and all right-of-centre parties, are tainted by the historic spectre of Fascism. Secondly, the first-past-the-post voting system makes it difficult to win and a vote for a minor party feels like a wasted vote. In my opinion, the BNP would get many 'second choice' votes if we move to AV making it much more likely that they would secure majorities when these votes are taken into account. Voting BNP second will become respectable and we would be in danger of a massive lurch to the right in the UK. In due course, the BNP could be part of a Coalition and eventually be the Government. You have been warned!

Wednesday 2 March 2011

Gender Madness

So, the European Court of Justice has decreed that gender discrimination by companies offering car insurance, life assurance and life annuities will become unlawful at the end of next year. For example, a young female driver, everything else being equal, will have to be quoted the same premium as a young male driver. 'Ave a bloody word wiv y'self mate! On average, young men exhibit considerably more risk-taking behaviour than young women; with the result that they cause more death, injury and destruction on our roads. Their car insurance claims are therefore far higher than those made by young females. Quite rightly, they pay higher premiums and so say all of us! No?

I'm all for gender equality but there are considerable differences between the male and the female anatomy and psyche. Equality does not equal sameness. If we continue to insist on a gender-blind society, we will, for example, ignore the fact that the developmental profile of boys and girls is very different. This should be taken into account by the education system. Not to do so is currently courting problems and leading to educational failure.

A policy of complete gender-blindness means that the next ruling may make it mandatory to have only proper sit-down toilet-stalls in male lavatories; those porcelain walls are obviously not on since they discriminate against us men! Come on folks; finkabowdit!