View Poll Results: What would you personally prefer to happen? |
I want the UK to stay in an ever-closer union
|    | 49 | 23.11% |
I want the UK to stay in a loosely connected EU
|    | 68 | 32.08% |
I want the UK out because the EU is bad for the UK
|    | 22 | 10.38% |
I want the UK out because the EU is a bad thing
|    | 23 | 10.85% |
I want the UK out because this would be good for the rest of us
|    | 17 | 8.02% |
I don't really care
|    | 33 | 15.57% |  | | | 
09.02.2017, 15:05
|  | Forum Legend | | Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Switzerland
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| | Re: The Brexit referendum thread: potential consequences for GB, EU and the Brits in | Quote: | |  | | | The Lords are the political elite. Unelected and unnecessary. If 650 MPs can vote on something, why is the opinion of 800 Lords required? It shouldn't take Brexit to have rid of them, they should have been gone years ago. | | | | | Yet, the proposal would be to replace the Lords with yet another elected body. If 650 MPs can vote on something why bother with a second house at all? Oh yeah, as fatmanfilms says, to protect against a runaway government. We should get a good example of that once Trump's cabinet is in place and Congress gets down to business. | This user would like to thank Medea Fleecestealer for this useful post: | | 
09.02.2017, 15:20
| | Re: The Brexit referendum thread: potential consequences for GB, EU and the Brits in | Quote: | |  | | | Yet, the proposal would be to replace the Lords with yet another elected body. If 650 MPs can vote on something why bother with a second house at all? Oh yeah, as fatmanfilms says, to protect against a runaway government. We should get a good example of that once Trump's cabinet is in place and Congress gets down to business.  | | | | | The difference is that in most other functioning democracies the second house is elected. The Lords aren't.
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09.02.2017, 16:40
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| | Re: The Brexit referendum thread: potential consequences for GB, EU and the Brits in | Quote: | |  | | | The difference is that in most other functioning democracies the second house is elected. The Lords aren't. | | | | | So? Does being elected make them better? The UK's government has functioned quite well under the current system for some hundreds of years. As they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. | This user would like to thank Medea Fleecestealer for this useful post: | | 
09.02.2017, 17:06
|  | Forum Legend | | Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Rheintal
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| | Re: The Brexit referendum thread: potential consequences for GB, EU and the Brits in | Quote: | |  | | | So? Does being elected make them better? The UK's government has functioned quite well under the current system for some hundreds of years. As they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.  | | | | | In principal it does, yes.
Why should ANYONE through accident of birth have such legislative power? It's broken and needs to be fixed. But a second chamber must be elected by a different system to the commons and fairly represent the whole electorate (which the Commons very much doesn't). Most european systems function quite happily with this sort of arrangement including Switzerland.
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09.02.2017, 17:28
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| | Re: The Brexit referendum thread: potential consequences for GB, EU and the Brits in
It's not broken and has functioned well for much longer than any two house elected system has.
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09.02.2017, 17:49
| | Re: The Brexit referendum thread: potential consequences for GB, EU and the Brits in | Quote: | |  | | | It's not broken and has functioned well for much longer than any two house elected system has. | | | | | The horse and cart wasn't broken and had functioned well for much longer than any motor car.
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09.02.2017, 17:59
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| | Re: The Brexit referendum thread: potential consequences for GB, EU and the Brits in
And who's to say we won't be back to the horse and cart when we run out of fossil fuel and "renewable" proves to be not as renewable as everyone makes it out to be? | This user groans at Medea Fleecestealer for this post: | | 
09.02.2017, 18:02
| | Re: The Brexit referendum thread: potential consequences for GB, EU and the Brits in | Quote: | |  | | | Why should ANYONE through accident of birth have such legislative power? | | | | | To be fair, most hereditary peerages were abolished in 1999.
Bishops 26
Conservative 252
Crossbench 178
Labour 203
Liberal Democrat 102
Non-affiliated 30
Other 14
Total 805
Personally more concerned about the outdated power of Bishops from on particular religion, and of one particular 'sect'.
Last edited by Odile; 09.02.2017 at 18:24.
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09.02.2017, 18:07
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| | Re: The Brexit referendum thread: potential consequences for GB, EU and the Brits in | Quote: |  | | | To be fair, most hereditary peerages were abolished in 1999. | | | | | Some are still in there and the rest are appointed. Still not democratic.
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09.02.2017, 18:09
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| | Re: The Brexit referendum thread: potential consequences for GB, EU and the Brits in | Quote: | |  | | | And who's to say we won't be back to the horse and cart when we run out of fossil fuel and "renewable" proves to be not as renewable as everyone makes it out to be?  | | | | | When we run out of fossil fuel and if renewables/fusion don't work out, there ain't going to be 7 billion people on this planet for very long if we have to go back to horse and cart.
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09.02.2017, 18:10
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| | Re: The Brexit referendum thread: potential consequences for GB, EU and the Brits in | Quote: | |  | | | It's not broken and has functioned well for much longer than any two house elected system has. | | | | | I thought you were one of those that welcomed Brexit because it was a black eye for the elite? How much more elite can you get than a House of Lords?
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09.02.2017, 18:18
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| | Re: The Brexit referendum thread: potential consequences for GB, EU and the Brits in | Quote: | |  | | | It's not broken and has functioned well for much longer than any two house elected system has. | | | | | Well if that were the case how did the UK end up committed to an EU that the voters apparently did not agree with... and of course given the voters opposition to unelected bodies making their laws it would seem that it has had it's day if voters are consistent...
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09.02.2017, 18:23
|  | RIP | | Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Murten - Morat
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| | Re: The Brexit referendum thread: potential consequences for GB, EU and the Brits in | Quote: | |  | | | The difference is that in most other functioning democracies the second house is elected. The Lords aren't. | | | | | They aren't paid either! They get a daily allowance, if they turn up at Westminster.
They are very committed people, far better than some young political loud mouth, and as their shelf life is longer than 5 years, there is also some experience in what is good for the country.
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09.02.2017, 18:50
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| | Re: The Brexit referendum thread: potential consequences for GB, EU and the Brits in | Quote: | |  | | | I thought you were one of those that welcomed Brexit because it was a black eye for the elite? How much more elite can you get than a House of Lords? | | | | | No, I welcomed Brexit because I think the EU has had it's day and the UK would be better off outside of it. I don't think in terms of elite, upper class, working class, middle class, etc.
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09.02.2017, 18:52
| | Re: The Brexit referendum thread: potential consequences for GB, EU and the Brits in
BTW, there are currently 805 Lords.
252 are Tories
305 are Labour and Lib Dems
others non affiliated- so 553 to 252 Tories ...
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09.02.2017, 20:01
| | Re: The Brexit referendum thread: potential consequences for GB, EU and the Brits in | Quote: | |  | | | They aren't paid either! They get a daily allowance, if they turn up at Westminster.
They are very committed people, far better than some young political loud mouth, and as their shelf life is longer than 5 years, there is also some experience in what is good for the country. | | | | | Peer claims £300 a day in expenses to walk 200 yards to work at House of Lords Scandal of the 'silent peers' who claim more than £1.6m in expenses despite mimimal participation in House of Lords Lord Sewel 'drugs' video: Peer resigns from House of Lords after prostitute scandal Westminster paedophile dossier Cash for Honours House of Lords drawn into lobbying scandal Britain's House of Lords: the past scandals | Quote: | |  | | | I don't think in terms of elite, upper class, working class, middle class, etc. | | | | | You should - Britain has been set up to serve the elites since 1066. Reform is necessary. Abolishing the Lords, Proportional Representation and more referendums would be a good start.
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09.02.2017, 20:31
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| | Re: The Brexit referendum thread: potential consequences for GB, EU and the Brits in
My list trumps yours. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...United_Kingdom
Proportional representation! Are you mad? All it does is gum up the political system and even less gets done. | 
09.02.2017, 20:38
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| | Re: The Brexit referendum thread: potential consequences for GB, EU and the Brits in | Quote: | |  | | | Well if that were the case how did the UK end up committed to an EU that the voters apparently did not agree with... and of course given the voters opposition to unelected bodies making their laws it would seem that it has had it's day if voters are consistent... | | | | | Very good question, short answer is Ted Heath committed treason by taking Britain into the Common Market. It's not as if the electorate had voted for this & he went against his better judgement. | Quote: | |  | | | They aren't paid either! They get a daily allowance, if they turn up at Westminster.
They are very committed people, far better than some young political loud mouth, and as their shelf life is longer than 5 years, there is also some experience in what is good for the country. | | | | | £300 a day for signing in is not bad, they can go home immediately afterwards. TBH it's been £300 for a VERY LONG TIME.
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09.02.2017, 21:05
| | Re: The Brexit referendum thread: potential consequences for GB, EU and the Brits in | Quote: | |  | | | Proportional representation! Are you mad? All it does is gum up the political system and even less gets done.  | | | | | It's supposed to be a representational democracy, only it doesn't represent.
Nearly 4 million people voted for UKIP. They have one seat. Where's their voice? The same story for the Greens. | 
09.02.2017, 21:10
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| | Re: The Brexit referendum thread: potential consequences for GB, EU and the Brits in | Quote: | |  | | | It's supposed to be a representational democracy, only it doesn't represent.
Nearly 4 million people voted for UKIP. They have one seat. Where's their voice? The same story for the Greens.    | | | | | However with BREXIT & votes as PR the remainers burst into tears. Either way it's a Tory majority coalitions are not good for decision making so leave as it is.
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