Murphy's letter from Edinburgh

 

The British election's looming

Over the last few months, it has been mooted around that we may have an election in May.  Yet each time our Prime Minister is asked when the elections will be, he states that he doesn't know when it going to be, giving the British electorate the impression that he is playing mind games with them.

From the beginning of this year he has been promoting the Labour Party successes over their two terms in office and he continues to state that there is a lot more work to be done.  He also states that they have made some blunders on their way.

For those who do not know how British politics work - and that must include most of the British electorate.  It's up too the Prime Minister to state when the election will be.  It's not a four year fixed term like the systems that are used in many countries - including the Scottish Parliament.

So, is it not time that we had a system which states a four year term only for any party that is voted in to run the country?

It's obvious that the government of the day will go by opinion polls and will call an election when the polls are in their favour, and if they do not make good reading they will hold off on the elections for as long as they can keeping the electorate in suspense for as long as they can.

While they are doing that, we are left in limbo while they are electioneering knowing that the general election is only a matter of months away.  The electorate need to know exactly when their general election is without politicians playing mind games with them.  And a fixed term of four years is the only way to resolve this.

Until the election is announced and over we are going to be bombarded with playground politics with both of the main parties slagging each other off with the predictable 'they did this and they didn't do that', 'and that's why the country is running so well or isn't running the way it should be'.

Normally when the election does come the electorate are totally fed up with this type of electioneering.  They are fed up and confused with the messages that are being put out, that they just won't bother voting.  And it's time for this way of electioneering to be brought to a conclusion in British politics.  It's very boring and it does nothing for the reputation of the government of the day.

Let's have a four year term parliament and a prime minister that can only serve only two terms to end this type of uncertainty.  When we do that, the government of the day will know exactly where they stand.

But more importantly the electorate - that's the people who cast the vote in case the government has forgotten - will know exactly when the elections are going to be and they can make a properly informed decision without the government of the day playing mind games with them.

It might even increase the turnout of the electorate given time.

Written by Andrew Murphy 21 February 2005

Back to the main letters page