Would this Democatic?

[anotheoldgit]

If the law was to be change to allow this, could we still say that we live in a democratic country?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles /news/news.html?in_article_id=483718&in_page_i d=1770

[jake-the-peg]

To allow all black shortlists not make them mandatory.

Don't panic they're not going to kick the door down at your local constituency Tory party and force an all black short-list on you.

Mind you maybe Cameron will.

But we don't live in a democratic country anyway - general elections are decided by about 100,000 people in the marginal seats

[4GS]

MP's should be elected to represent their constituants whatever race, creed or religion. The colour of skin should not be a factor.
I would be happy to vote for an Indian muslim to repesent my wishes at Parliament, so long as he was a Conservative MP

[Pippa68]

LOL..you took the wordds right out of my mouth, john :o)

[jake-the-peg]

So after a careful consideration of a candidates merits, abilities and capacity to represent you you'd vote for a donkey providing he's wearing a blue rosette!

[anotheoldgit]

I would vote for the best person to do the job, if I was allowed to. But if this gets through I would only be able to vote for a person with a Black/brown skin, no matter what their ability.

[NJOK]

The thing is - and this is just a hunch, AOG - I think it's pretty unlikely that you'd ever vote for someone with black or brown skin.

[jake-the-peg]

Only if you're a labour voter in a predominantly high etnic-minority constituency.

This is shortlists for local constituency parties in picking candidates - so unless Cameron jumps on the band wagon or you suddenly join the Labour party you'll not be affected will you?

[Gromit]

Labour will be desperate to retain every seat, so they are only likely to do this in seats where the 'ethnic minority' is actually nearly the majority. Which is in fact quite democratic.

[Shadow Man]

ermmmm, the coloured folk are complaining that they are "not represented" in the community. Surely if the areas have a majority coloured populas and THEY wanted a black MP, the vote would dictate they would get one???

Perhaps, if they stopped shooting eachother, raping white women and dealing crack and got their ass down to the polling station, they may have a black MP.

Further, it sounds rather like Apartheid voting.

Welcome to Britain.

[ruby27]

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/News/Politics/Q uestion459559.html

I posted this in the sub section earlier this week and it would appear from my question and susquent answers that most people on here would agree with you not me.

[naomi24]

No, this is not democracy. How can it be democracy if specific sections of the community are totally excluded?

[Lucy Thomas]

I think that they should impose all Lucy Thomas shortlists as there is a definite shortage of 43 year old MPs called Lucy Thomas.

Once again they fail to see the irony in their meddling of the electoral system. Imagine if predominantly white areas wanted to change the law to make sure that they had white only shortlists.

My God, I can hear sp1814 booting up his PC (PC, that's an unfortunate term when we're talking about him) as we speak.

[bazwillrun]

we have a benign dictatorship we do not have democracy in the UK.

i am sick of hearing about so called ethnics and their "problems" clear out if you dont like it and your supporters with you, and find somewhere else for your idealistic democracy

[anotheoldgit]

You are way out with your hunches yet again NJOK, as always. I would vote for anyone, no matter what class, colour or creed, providing that in my opinion they were the best for whatever they had put themselves up for.

Thank you ruby27 for giving me the opportunity to read your previous post. From your post and mine, I think we can take it that the vast majority, do not wish this racist procedure of discriminating against Whites to take place.

Gromit says "So they are only likely to do this in seats where the 'ethnic minority' is actually nearly the majority. Which is in fact quite democratic".

Gromit you still don't get it do you? No matter if it was a seat totally populated by Blacks or Asians, it would still be both racist and un-demorcratic to ban whites from putting up for election. You never know perhaps the majority of the voters might consider that the White candidate would be the better person to be voted in.

I think you along with NJOK, jake-the-peg, ruby27, Mani Hussain and the like would soon be up in arms, if it was even hinted that we should ban Blacks and Asians from putting their names forward in predominantly White seats.

Shall we put a ban on Black athletes putting their names forward for the Olympics? So that the White British are better represented? Shall we put a ban on foreign footballers playing in the Premier League, so as to get a better balance of home grown talent?

I say no to any form of discrimination, just let things take their natural course, they will work out in the end given time. Who wouldhave thought in the days of McDonald Hobley we would have the likes of Sir Trevor McDonald OBE on our screens, perish the thought. Incidently poor old Hobley didn't get an OBE never mind a Knighthood, I wonder why?

[ruby27]

You will know from my thread that I too am concerned about discrimination. It is just that at this point our opinions diverge.
Either
discrimination occurs which resulted in less women becoming MP's than should given the population numbers. So the Labour party decided to use a system to address the inequalities which in turn raised the number of women MP's. So it worked with women why then not consider this approach working with Black E M population.
OR
MrBenn is correct and that the reason there are less women MP's is because politics is too difficult a subject for them to understand. From this we could then think the same for Black and EM MP's that lack of them proportionaltly is due to some sort of personal deficit rather than any sort of societal process occuring.

The un democratic part of the system is that discrimination and lack of opportunity are part of the fabric of British society, not because one political party attempts to redress the imbalance.

[anotheoldgit]

How can you say that discrimination and a lack of opportunity are part of the fabric of British society ruby?

When everyone is given an Education, if they wish to take advantage of it, and also a chance to go on further, perhaps to Universary if they wish.

[ruby27]

AOG. If I were to attempt to provide you with an explanation for my comments I would need to write a synopsis of Radical Feminist paradigm/perspective that patriarchy, the rule by men, in which women are the oppressed category--is understood to be the root of all further inequalities, oppressions, and injustices. Which I imagine would bore to death you and other ABers. I couldn't do justice to a subject without using at least 2,000 words!! Even then, with well referenced material back up with research, you would still go - well what a load of rubbish.
So best leave it with, well thats what I think anyway so it must be true.

[anotheoldgit]

Oh dear, oh dear ruby27, you must get rid of those red stockings and sensible shoes, put your bra back on and drag yourself into the 21st century.

Today's femails are having a great time out there. They have equal opportunities and in some cases even better opportunities than men.

There is nothing that men do, that todays women cannot do if they so wish. But at the moment they still have to bear the children, but even that is an individual choice.

[Lucy Thomas]

'females'

[anotheoldgit]

Sorry teacher must try better.

Try surfing through other posts on this site Lucy Thomas, you will find many more than just the one spelling mistake that I have made, from the many posts that I enter.

This will then perhaps, make you seem even more superior than the rest of us poor mortals.