WALK MY WAY ?...
This image could well represent Mrs. Snopper and me trudging our way to Dibley village hall to cast our votes in the Kent County Council elections. For today is the day when we get a chance to vote although it`s been a difficult task to come to any real conclusion about who to support. But thankfully the political party machines have done their work and made the decision easy for us.
The other day I had a visit from someone representing the Conservatives asking whether they could rely on my vote this time. Now in this part of the world, the Conservative votes tend to be weighed rather than counted, so I was a bit surprised that they were sending outriders onto the streets to canvass voters. And then we had the outburst from Ken Clarke declaring that UKIP has "fruitcakes, loonies, waifs and strays" in its ranks and among its supporters. And since then there have been dire Tory warnings along the lines of `Vote UKIP - get Labour.`
And, of course, it didn`t take too long for the penny to drop and confirm that the Conservatives are clearly rattled by the prospect that UKIP might just become something of a more serious alternative to the cosy inevitability that has seen them rule the rural shires for so long. Panic seems to have set in and they are probably right to be worried.
Their problem is, of course, that the attitudes displayed by the Ken Clarkes of this world, the dire threats and the Sunday morning visits all have the effect of driving undecided voters like me in UKIP`s direction, if only out of a sense of cussedness at being treated so patronisingly.
And if my reaction is typical of an undecided, frustrated generation at the antics of the Coalition Government across a range of issues then maybe I will not be alone in registering a vote against chucking £53million each and every day into the black hole of Brussels just so the European Union can tell us what to do in our own country. Enough is more than enough and I`m not sure why but I can almost hear the words of Johnny Mathis, "Walk my way and a thousand violins begin to play," as I toddle to the polling station up the road..but then I always was a little misty.
The other day I had a visit from someone representing the Conservatives asking whether they could rely on my vote this time. Now in this part of the world, the Conservative votes tend to be weighed rather than counted, so I was a bit surprised that they were sending outriders onto the streets to canvass voters. And then we had the outburst from Ken Clarke declaring that UKIP has "fruitcakes, loonies, waifs and strays" in its ranks and among its supporters. And since then there have been dire Tory warnings along the lines of `Vote UKIP - get Labour.`
And, of course, it didn`t take too long for the penny to drop and confirm that the Conservatives are clearly rattled by the prospect that UKIP might just become something of a more serious alternative to the cosy inevitability that has seen them rule the rural shires for so long. Panic seems to have set in and they are probably right to be worried.
Their problem is, of course, that the attitudes displayed by the Ken Clarkes of this world, the dire threats and the Sunday morning visits all have the effect of driving undecided voters like me in UKIP`s direction, if only out of a sense of cussedness at being treated so patronisingly.
And if my reaction is typical of an undecided, frustrated generation at the antics of the Coalition Government across a range of issues then maybe I will not be alone in registering a vote against chucking £53million each and every day into the black hole of Brussels just so the European Union can tell us what to do in our own country. Enough is more than enough and I`m not sure why but I can almost hear the words of Johnny Mathis, "Walk my way and a thousand violins begin to play," as I toddle to the polling station up the road..but then I always was a little misty.
2 comments:
Fair enough, Ray. Democracy is all about doing what you want to do when you`re in the ballot booth. I really do believe, however, that there should always be a `None of the Above` option on the ballot paper with those votes being counted and declared - that would send another message to the `political elite.`
.....so how about making voting compulsory, which would be `easier` to introduce if there was a `None of the Above` option?
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