DEM not gonna CON dis NATION: Rolling UK politics in the short-lived post-Murdoch era

well not so much democratic accountability but representation of sections of society that need representation, i.e. not those sections that already have all the power.

of course the problem for me is that the whole edifice is a sham, but it's interesting to think about what an upper chamber with actual teeth cd be if it wasn't just a mirror of the lower chamber.

arguably slightly less of a sham if you remove hereditary peers, retired MPs from the lower house, QCs, bishops etc. The problem is not replacing them with identikit career politicians. Wild ideas: ban party affiliation? Elect using full PR?

Appoint people at random like jury duty, idk.

i said ban party affiliation upthread, i'm all for that. the major parties are the biggest barrier to democracy within the system as it exists.

of course if you banned them then analogous structures wd probly coalesce within 5 years, see the Iron Law of Oligarchy article i posted.

sorry, didn't see that re. party affiliation. Agreed that oligarchy is an iron law, but political structures can be devised to ameliorate oligarchy to a greater or lesser extent- e.g. Rawls' veil of ignorance (admittedly a thought experiment rather than a working model).

xp jury service idea is an interesting one! That would be truly democratic in the sense of the Athenian polis...

you cd sign up to be eligible to sit in the upper house and they cd do a draw every year to decide the requisite number of members, paid at national average plus reasonable expenses or something.

some kind of weighting to be roughly proportionally representative of gender, race, sexuality maybe

age perhaps as well?

Sounds like Russell Brand is having fun at the HoC.. Guardian has been live blogging.

Keith Vaz says the committee is running out of time.

Brand says you can never run out of time. Theresa May might not show up. She might not know what day it is.

Labour's David Winnick tells Brand this is "not a variety show".

you cd sign up to be eligible to sit in the upper house and they cd do a draw every year to decide the requisite number of members, paid at national average plus reasonable expenses or something.

― aboulia banks (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, April 24, 2012 10:55 AM (22 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

some kind of weighting to be roughly proportionally representative of gender, race, sexuality maybe

― aboulia banks (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, April 24, 2012 10:56 AM (21 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

age perhaps as well?

― good luck in your pyramid (Neil S), Tuesday, April 24, 2012 11:02 AM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

location too? make it an opt-out rather than opt-in system? obviously this is not foolproof but no system is, really.

agree with NV on party affiliation, but banning it would just conceal rather than eradicate it.

Random upper house prob needs hardline anti-corruption laws?

Back in recession, Murdoch hanging Jeremy Cunt out to dry... we're slipping people.

Hunt statement at 12:30

his special advisor has just quit.

"While it was part of my role to keep News Corporation informed throughout the BSkyB bid process, the content and extent of my contact was done without authorisation from the secretary of state. I do not recognise all of what Fréd Michel said, but nonetheless I appreciate that my activities at times went too far and have, taken together, created the perception that News Corporation had too close a relationship with the department, contrary to the clear requirements set out by Jeremy Hunt and the permanent secretary that this needed to be a fair and scrupulous process. Whilst I firmly believe that the process was in fact conducted scrupulously fairly, as a result of my activities it is only right for me to step down as special adviser to Jeremy Hunt."

"we didn't do anything wrong, which is why i'm resigning."

Advisor taking one for the team.

Hunt's absolute inability to recognise he over-stepped the line is one of many depressing things about this whole saga.

It's just par for the course for a hunt like him, it's not even depressing. Still good to see the Murdochs sticking the boot into Hunt and Salmond, two of the smuggest bastards in British politics... just a pity they couldn't have worked Gove and Grant Shapps in there too, oh and this guy...

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OVJbYBGOGlQ/TI9HCgnr_YI/AAAAAAAACpM/GTiR-BLT20o/s1600/05.jpg

... not that he's important or anything, just that he's a dick

jimmy somerville's in the coalition?

run away, run away, run away

I'm sure Hunt recognises he over-stepped the line really. But doesn't believe in the line. etc.

amusing to see all the possible candidates for future tory leader besmirch their careers so thoroughly within two years of their first term in office

Back in recession - but the great majority of austerity cuts still to come, and they've hardly made a dent in the deficit.

All pain, no gain.

Nah..

Someone's gainin'...

But Frederic Michel, head of public affairs at News Corp, has said his references to "JH" in emails were actually shorthand for Mr Hunt's special adviser, Mr Smith,......

hahahaha omg

That's the lamest excuse I've heard since the John Terry racism thing.

... talking of lame:

The prime minister said it would be wrong to "pre-judge" the Leveson Inquiry and accused Mr Miliband of not being able to resist "the passing political bandwagon".

fuck these guys. guy fawkes attempted to blow dudes up for less.

"But Frederic Michel, head of public affairs at News Corp, has said his references to "JH" in emails were actually shorthand for Mr Hunt's special adviser, Mr Smith,......"

I keep reading that and going "haha no seriously... they didn't try... surely someone... I mean come on... but it's..." to myself then despairing at how this shit is allowed to go on.

There's no chance of Culture Secretary "AS" resigning now he has the full backing of Prime Minister "GO".

The "JH' email thing is unbelievable, but Hunt's permanent smug expression is what makes the whole thing too much for me.

if only there were an opposition to make something of all this

Just when you think it can't get any sillier

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/iainmartin1/100153447/the-night-i-saw-jeremy-hunt-hide-behind-a-tree-before-dinner-with-james-murdoch/

amazing

if only there were an opposition to make something of all this

― I accidentally sonned your dome (stevie), Wednesday, 25 April 2012 18:45 (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I thought EdMil was fairly scabrous in the Commons. DCam countered with a lame "you're just trying to make political copital, int yer?"

thank fuck nobody in the PLP has got any dodgy ties to Newscorp waiting to come out

that's true, Mark. and he was pretty good on today prog this morning. i just don't have much faith in their ability to make it stick.

his point re: hunt as firewall is pretty sharp

This drubbing might be the best pretext the Libs have for escaping the coalition, if they're brave enough.

first election night i can remember where i cdn't even be fucked to stay up and watch results

So the Tories get a massive kicking and attribute it to being "not right-wing enough"... uh huh

Might help them shore up their core support. Internal dissent is probably going off the scale at the moment.

It'll be interesting to see how they square that with Boris' inevitable victory in London though.

so basically they're saying "we need to be more racist"

Cameron's only tolerated by the Tory rump because he's popular and successful. If he stops being popular and successful, and starts losing safe Conservative seats, he has to throw a few bones to the crazy old people who actually make up the bulk of the party. It's going to make them more unpopular with everyone else, which is a good thing.

At the same time, while Cameron's driving to the right, Boris will hold on to a major prize by being a centrist, dividing the traditionalists and reformers even more. It's a recipe for complete disarray.

The Tories are *eating* David Cameron...

I presume at LibDem HQ they're having a whip-round to buy a Waterstone's voucher for their one remaining voter

1231: In one Edinburgh ward a Lib Dem candidate has failed to pick up more first preference votes than Professor Pongoo, an independent candidate who dresses in a six-foot penguin costume. And with nine of 58 seats declared in the city, it is clear the Lib Dem vote is down overall.

i <3 penguins and might well vote for one over any candidate

Yes but you hate comedy and some sub-Raving Loony guy in a bird suit surely qualifies as "comedy".