A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Don't vote! It only encourages them

imc-uk-features | 26.04.2007 06:41 | Social Struggles

You are expected to turn out to vote on May 3rd. By this seemingly straightforward act you will tacitly endorse a sham democracy and are unlikely to change anything really important. Voting alone does not a democracy make. It crucially depends on which particular issues you are allowed to vote for, or not.

Why is our democracy a sham? Democracy is supposed to be 'rule by the People' but there are huge areas in the UK system of government where the People have absolutely no say at all, such as foreign policy and defence. They also cannot influence by voting the decisions of global organisations which may have a profound effect on the lives of UK citizens, such as the G8 and the WTO. Much the same applies to multi-national corporations and quangos operating within the UK.

So what are you allowed to vote for? A strictly limited set of policies contained in a party manifesto, mere promises which may or may not be honoured during the next term of office before you are permitted to vote again. Those who abstain from voting may not be able to bring about a proper democracy in the immediate future but at least they will have the satisfaction of knowing they are not helping to perpetuate a downright lie.

From the newswire: Vote Nobody! Campaign hits Cardiff city centre | Vote Nobody at the Welsh Assembly elections | Bristol Indymedia: Local Elections Round-Up | A Change is Gonna Come | Vote Nobody on May 3rd! | Election Circus Comes to Town! Brummagem Star issue 1
Other: General election 2005 | 66% saying the government is not by the will of the people | Just how little MPs knew about the Iraq war | Royal Prerogative | Party Whip

Democracy or regime?

Successive Prime Ministers act as serial dictators. Under the Royal Prerogative PMs can declare war and deploy troops without even seeking the consent of Parliament and are elected to their position of almost absolute power by only a few tens of thousands of constituency votes, less than 1% of the electorate. The governing party, which chooses a PM, is also elected by a minority of the electorate, less than a quarter at the last general election and just over a third of the voters. So our so-called democracy is actually 'rule by a small minority of the People' and that even assumes that those who voted for the party in power have any control over it between elections, which is debatable. So disenchanted are the electorate with the existing system that a more than a third can't be bothered to vote at all. In a Gallup survey, 66% said the UK government is not by the will of the people.

In our bipartite parliamentary system, just two, almost identical, political parties - sometimes referred to as Tweedledum and Tweedledee - hold sway. The rest just queue in line waiting for a power which they are unlikely ever to achieve. The reason for this is not difficult to see; it is called 'divide and rule'. By splitting most voters into two main rival team supporters, this pretend adversarial system ensures a lack of consensus against the status quo. The system is like a play, you don't change it by merely changing its players. This mode of government has probably evolved historically as a pragmatic way of maximizing control over citizens while minimizing their dissent, which works OK as long as a majority of citizens don't suss they are being conned or are too scared to challenge authority. With jobs and mortgages at stake and with small children, it takes a lot of courage to challenge authority by anything other than the ballot box.

There is supposed to be an opposition to the party in power but that stops when matters of perceived national security are voted on, thus automatically transforming into a one-party state on certain key issues. Also, MPs are frequently 'whipped' into the party line against their consciences and the will of their electors.

Spoil your ballot paper instead?

Some people prefer to spoil their ballot papers as a protest vote but not all constituencies reveal their number of spoiled papers and the spoiling may be accidental anyway. Others would like to see a "None of the above" checkbox on ballot papers but they have been waiting a long time for this to happen and are still waiting. Tactical voting is not a bad idea, described as "when a voter misrepresents his or her sincere preferences in order to prevent the worst possible outcome". But this active participation will still lend a certain credence to the system.

So, the most obvious form of protest is not to vote at all and thereby discredit in the eyes of the world this sham democracy by a substantial lack of support from its People.

imc-uk-features

Additions

"Vote Nobody" poster for use nationwide

26.04.2007 10:28

Vote Nobody (poster preview)

Thought you might like to make use of this poster that I knocked together.

The attached image is just a preview - a high-quality printer friendly PDF version is available at: