“most of them are so locked in to the one party that elections are pointless”
“Candidates are parachuted in by Head Office in to safe seats and can sit in that seat for decades and then be replaced by another man who will sit there for decades”

Kinda describing Ireland there too.

At least here, areas will have multiple reps from different parties. In Britain it is one person who for most areas is there for life even if they never worked a day in their life for the greater good or even bad.

Lot on British people hate the sterility and the conformity of politics it brings, no wonder, political change is even more anathema to the powers that be there than here.

This is true. I’m from the North and out of our 18 UK parliamentary seats there are 15 or 16 that have absolutely no chance of changing hands. STV isn’t much better though. It doesn’t matter how people are elected, or who they are, they always get sucked into the “sterility and the conformity of politics”.

At least in most of Ireland you can have two or more differing views.

In Westminister elctions. that is not an option. There are const’s in England that have had the same party representing them for over 70 years.

Look at UKIP, whether u like them or not aside, if they get 15% of the vote they still probably won’t get a seat.

It

This is true, it’s a very outdated and unrepresentative system. Also, I agree with what Siobhán said; an MP/TD should be required to resign their seat and face a by-election if they choose to change party.

Seanie
Isn’t is humorous to see you laud the transferable vote when your Party tried on three occasions to change our system to that of the UK. Funny old Party… Fianna Fail.

Europe is a closed shop at this stage. The appointment of a life-long Brussesl bureaucratic alcoholic as the new commission president at a time when people across Europe are voting for increasingly extremist left/right political parties, shows it’s business as usual in Brussels.

And that is why we need reform. We make a fuss whenever there’s something we don’t like, but we don’t actually make a move to influence any real change

The EU is beyond reform. It has become mainly a vehicle to maintain German economic power.

It isn’t beyond reform, we actually need to try first.

Right, we could throw out the entire Commission and start again. Or we could refuse to approve its constitution and tell the bureaucrats to start again.

No, wait. We already did both of those things. Never mind.

We have representatives over in Europe, why don’t we put more pressure on them to influence change? We have much more potential influence than we think. Change won’t happen if we don’t make an effort

Who’s going to try Danny? The British along with countries like Sweden and Finland want to try. They’ve shut down at every turn by the Germans and the French. Irish politicians main concern is keeping their snouts in the Brussels trough. Reform is not going to happen.

Our representatives, I just said. We need to put pressure on them to make change. They are OUR representatives.

Our representatives bar Ming are Brussels sycophants. Realistically there is more of a chance of hell freezing over.

Half of them are first timers, you can hardly say that

And most of those first timers are members of major parties. They follow the party whip.There will be no reform, unless the Germans want reform.

Danny, we have 11 reps in 751 member parliament, what effective reform do you realistically think they could ever hope to achieve even if they stood united?

We expect out TDs to make change, why not MEPs. MEPs sit on various boards that propose and deal with various policies on a variety of issues. They have to power to influence what goes on in those boards and committees, they have the power to vote on various issues. They have more influence than you think

They have less influence then you think Danny. Our shafting on the bailout shows how much infuence we realistically have.

That just shows we elected pushovers. We have influence and potential power that we do not use. We, as the public, need to put pressure on our elected representatives to use their power to make change.

Oh so suggesting we make use of the democratic process and suggesting we use the influence we currently have is a bad thing? Ok, got that.

Or the lobbyists

They’ll have a few MPs in the next election, but they’ll be like the BNP and fade away in couple of years

That always happens between elections in the UK.

The SDP once opinion-polled over 50%

The Liberal Democrats have been the 2nd biggest party in local elections.

The Greens have hit 15% in the European Elections.

Come a General Election, British voters return to type.

No chance of a seat. They need 24% of the vote just to get one. And they have no hope of getting that on a general election turnout at current support levels. Ukip support has peaked – everyone without a brain has already been roped in.

The Liberals were once the biggest part in British parliament…they ended up having to merge to survive. UKIP isn’t a threat to either of the main parties, and certainly not the Tories. This has happened before, it will happen again and it won’t have a lasting effect.

At the very very least Farage will be elected. UKIP isn’t going to make a lasting impact, but don’t underestimate them

He couldn’t even win a seat last time in a constituency in which two of the three main parties didn’t run.

Yes but this isn’t last time

The PC ideology that has taken a hold on western culture is extremely damaging. The failure of Rotherham social services and police to take action against Pakistani rape gangs who were abusing predominantly white children, for fear of being labelled racist, being a case in point.

Actually Scipio,

I think that was dereliction of duty and incompetence.

I agree that’s a huge proble, just like it was a problem when it was priests in Ireland and celebrities and politicians in the UK. Just like it is when people protect family members who do the same. It’s also a pattern that social services across the UK have been failing in many respects. It is not an isolated or particularly unique occurance, but it is no less serious. However this is about UKIP policies, the party hasn’t really said much about Rotherham or rape gangs, that’s the BNP. UKIP policies are damaging and aren’t supported by evidence or research

And a case of political correctness gone mad. Any type of investigation into the grooming gangs was shut down due to the fear of being labelled ‘racist’ or ‘Islamophobic’.

As opposed to the policies of other parties which are making the world a better place? I think not. Maybe if the establishment parties weren’t failing so miserably on a social level, people wouldn’t be drawn to UKIP.

And I agree, but how is it any different than the exact same systematic failures when it was priests, politicians and celebrities? Regardless of that, it is not the issue we’re talking about. We’re talking about UKIP policies, unless you’re playing the same old UKIP trick of doing everything in your power to avoid discussing policy

The policies of the other parties aren’t great either, but that doesn’t change the fact that UKIP’s domestic policies are simply awful

It’s differnt because of the racial element involved, and because the authorities were more concerned about their P.C. non-racist credentials, then the welfare of hundreds of young girls.

Which is wrong. I totally agree. There is a balance but UKIP have most certainly not found it as evidenced below:

1. David Silvester, who called homosexuality a “spiritual disease”, said: “Since the passage of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act, the nation has been beset by serious storms and floods. One recent one caused the worst flooding for 60 years. The Christmas floods were the worst for 127 years. Is this just global warming or is there something more serious at work?”

2. In an investigation led by the Sunday Mirror, Dr Julia Gasper said: “As for the links between homosexuality and paedophilia, there is so much evidence that even a full-length book could hardly do justice to the ­subject.”

3. Speaking on the same issue, Ukip member Jan Zolyniak claimed: “The evidence is quite clear that the percentage of homosexuals who molest children is very high and cannot be dismissed.”

4. Douglas Denny, of the Bognor Regis branch in West Sussex, said homosexuals have “leftie, neo-commie followers”. He said: “I just wish they would keep their ­homosexual nature and practices to ­themselves and stop trying to ram it down my throat telling me they are ‘normal’ when they are not.”

5. It wouldn’t be a complete list without the wisecracking Godfrey Bloom. The Yorkshire and Humber MEP had the whip removed in September 2013, after a recording emerged of him joking that a group of Ukip women who did not clean behind their fridges were “sluts”.

6. In August, Bloom came under fire after referring to countries that received government aid as “Bongo Bongo Land”. He claimed that UK aid was being spent on fighter planes in Pakistan, as well as luxury sunglasses. He said: “How we can possibly be giving £1bn a month, when we’re in this sort of debt, to Bongo Bongo Land is completely beyond me.”

7. Stuart Agnew, Ukip MEP for the East of England, suggested that women lacked the ambition to succeed because children got in the way. Following the footsteps of Bloom, he argued: “If you look at the people who get degrees more, women get them and they are getting the jobs in the workplace but for various reasons they don’t have the ambition to go right to the top because something gets in the way. It’s called a baby.”

8. Speaking on BBC Radio 4′s The World At One in August, Stuart Wheeler, party treasurer, said women were “nowhere near as good as men” at chess, bridge and poker.

9. Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader said women with children were “worth less” than men in the financial sector. He claimed women with children were responsible for their own reduction in pay if they have children – because they take maternity leave and become less valuable to their businesses.

10. Farage also prioritised lower economic growth and a poorer Britain over an increase in migrants in the UK. “The social side of this matters more than pure market economics,” he said.

And basically the same thing happened with clergy, celebrities and politicians, they were worrying about their status and reputation. Now move on and talk about policy which is the issue I’m trying to raise. You’d be perfect as a UKIP policitian, constantly avoiding the policy questions

Clergy, celebrities and politicians do not work in police of social services.

It was other politicians, other clergy men, the government, the police and the social services who covered it up and turned blind eyes, just like it was in Rotherham. It was a systematic failure because people weren’t willing to act for various reasons. I’ve gone over this

Did you read the report yet?

Sean, some of that is pretty crazy (the gays angering god is pretty funny) but some of it isn’t too far wide of the mark, although could have been expressed better. Men are better at chess & poker, just one of those things but I hardly think talent in table games defines a dominant sex!
The maternity leave one & the comments about women in finance are accurate, and this has often become a feminist issue. Placing a woman of child bearing age into a position of responsibility does run the risk of lengthy absences should she have children. Maternity leave rights can’t be signed away, so this has to a factor in promotion & employment decisions, although it can’t be admitted. This is one of the big reasons why similar paternity leave should be afforded to fathers – it would actually benefit women in the long term, and I doubt too many men would object either.

But that had absolutely nothing to do with UKIP. So, are you going to talk about policy or not?

So what point are you trying to make Danny? It sounds like you’re making excuses for the people who allowed this abuse to go on uninvestigated for so long. And Rotheram is only the tip of the iceberg.

My point is fairly obvious. This has happened before, it is not just isolated to Rotherham or Pakistanis. It’s just as much, if not more, a social issue and an issue with the system than with ethnicity or political correctness. If it’s political correctness this time, then was it political correctness when the exact same happened with clergy, politicians and celebrities?

But Scipio, are you going to address the issue of UKIP’s policies?

Danny if the girls were of predominantly of Pakistani orign being abused by white men, who referred to the girls as brown b&tches,as the mainly Pakistani men refferred to their victims as white bit*hes I doubt you would have the same dismissive attitude.

I’m not being dismissive, I’m saying it’s reflective if a wider problem with the system. How are you not getting that? I’ve made it clear already

Are you going to address the issue of UKIP’s policies, or are you going to continue ignoring it?

It’s reflective of a social services who take their cue on race from the Guardian newspaper. In this PC world only white people are capable of racism and racist acts. That’s the type of thinking that allowed this abuse to go on for so long.

UKIP is on the rise in Britain. The horrific scandals revealed earlier this week (regarding gangs of Asian origin abusing young teens & children) has shocked the nation.
The police & authorities, for 16 years, did nothing for fear of being called ‘racist’. All this is only further increases support for parties such as UKIP.
UKIP are a Eurosceptic party, & will lobby for Britain to leave the EU. Ireland will have to think ahead & be ready if this possibility occurs.

Some Wall Street banks would leave the City for Dublin if the UK do exit, apparently.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/08/17/uk-britain-eu-banks-idUKKBN0GH0PX20140817

hay if you are going to cut and paste at least reference the source.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ukips-top-10-most-memorable-quotes-nigel-farage-godfrey-bloom-david-silvester-more-1433098

Ukip is not on the rise. Why do people exaggerate? Their vote plummeted in recent opinion polls. They control no councils. Have no MPs. They are a protest vote mainly and won’t win a single seat. The vast majority of the UK are intelligent people who see the benefits of immigration and have no interest in voting for a City boy who runs a party with only one policy.

Scipio, I’m agreeing with you. You’re so used to us disagreeing that you can’t understand when we actually agree. However, I’m pointing out that this is in no way an isolated occurrence and it is not isolated to the Pakistani community or Rotherham. We saw the exact same happen when it was celebrities, politicians and clergy. What aren’t you understanding about that? I agree that there is an awful lots of political correctness standing in the way of dealing with various issues, and I agree that there are certain things like the idea that only white people can be racist that are utterly ridiculous, but don’t make it out like it’s to only reason behind what happened in Rotherham. The failure of the system is more important than the race of the offenders. The system and the administration in which we place our trust has consistently failed to act, or even refused to act, in the face of (child) sex abuse for decades, if not centuries. It failed when it was celebrities like Jimmy Savile, it failed when it was politicians like Cyril Smith, when it was clergy in various countries and in various roles, and it has failed again in Rotherham. Is that clear enough for you?

What has UKIP got to say about that? What alternatives has UKIP proposed? What has UKIP said they’ll do differently if they get into power, whether it be in local government or national government, in order to combat child sex abuse?

The Rotherham scandal has shocked Britain to its foundations. Many British people are now feeling very disillusioned and betrayed by the policies of the liberal left.
Liberalism in Britain came to prominence in Britain during the early 1970′s. It promised multiculturalism, secularism & diversity. It became very influential in the British media & journalism, including the ‘Guardian’ newspaper & even the BBC. (The same process in now happening here in Ireland since the early 1990′s.)
What has shocked so many British, is how the police & authorities, were afraid to speak out for fear of being called ‘racist’. No one dared go against the all powerful dogma of political correctness.
What’s also sad is that there are many peaceful, decent Muslims living in the UK, and they will suffer the backlash as a result. All Muslims will be ‘tarred with the same brush’
Britain is a nation that faces huge division & tension within its society, and the Rotherham scandal will increase this greatly. It is at times like this that parties like UKIP will gain the most.

I completely agree with you Zoe, apart from the thing about liberalism coming to prominence in the 1970s. It came into prominence much earlier than that at the peak of the Liberal Party, though it has evolved since then

Look at the European Intra trade figures. Since the Euro started trade between countries in it have declined by 5%.

The Euro is even a worse failure than the skeptics imagined.

Trade declines, continent wide stagnation and mass unemployment.

Some legacy, people have to stand up to Brussels, if only at this stage to try to limit the damage. Either way the Euro is going to leave the continent’s economy in tatters.

I thought it was a German-French federalist bureaucracy?

I imagine you can be consistent and be in favour of some unions but not others.