Suffrage

With the dust just starting to settle from the initial impact of the election meteorite strike [pictured], which whilst not representing quite the extinction-level threat to the Conservative Party that many of us would have wished for, it was nevertheless a stonking result for the saner amongst us. A number of observations spring to my mind in its aftermath. Many pundits have been quick to point out the poor turnout and the disparity between the winning margin it turns of seats, and the very low vote-share: to which I would say: 'so what?'. A low turnout is a function of people's willingness or otherwise to engage with the democratic process; and my answer to any one of those that stayed at home and are now dissatisfied with or enraged by the result of the election would be: 'You could have voted, but you didn't, so you'll just have to suck it up, I'm afraid: tough shit, compadre'.

For those who argue that our first-past-the-post system stinks, and that it always leads to hegemonic parliamentary majorities, I would say look at the Con/Lib-Dem coalition that was foisted upon us as a result of exactly the opposite kind of electoral result: a hung parliament; or the revival of Lib-Dem fortunes this time round, never mind the now Labour government's historic turnaround from abject loss to total dominance in the space of just one parliamentary term: the constancy of the [nearly] two party system is not as fixed in stone as people might think. Change can and does happen.

One thing that struck me quite suddenly, listening to the new PM this morning, is how radically different his new cabinet has been structured, both in terms of the people involved, and in the simple fact that Labour intend to keep its members in their allotted posts for at least the first term of their governance; and the revolving doors approach of the last fourteen years of Tory chaos, with ministers [and PMs] being chopped and changed like partners at a square dance. All of Starmer's appointments to cabinet are based on relevant skill and experience sets; whereas each subsequent Tory administration of the last fourteen years was largely populated by bankers and financiers of one sort or another; with obvious motives, loyalties and affiliations to guide them; rather than any overarching sense of duty or service to the people of this archipelago we call home.

The fact is that Labour won the trust of those of us who could be arsed to get off their arses and participate in the democratic process and exercise a right, the fight for which cost the lives of many men and women in the long struggle for universal suffrage. I would stop short of adopting legally mandatory voting, as that really doesn't sit well with me, but voting should be a moral imperative instilled in everyone from childhood, rather than enforced. Not voting is simply cutting off your nose to spite your face. Not clever, not pretty, not useful...