Saturday 29 October 2016

Political Conundrum


Regarding Thursday's post about the slimming advert that was banned for preying on women's body insecurities; what do cosmetics adverts prey on, I wonder?

Saw a video post on Facebook yesterday where an MP on Question Time was asked by a Brexit audience member what she didn't understand about democracy. That's a bit like being on a bus and there being a slim majority vote to drive off a cliff because some of the passengers are not particularly enamoured of the driver. Do you just sit there and bow to democracy, or argue the toss?

Anyway, here's the conundrum - the MP in question was Labour and hence she didn't stand on a platform of Brexit at the last General Election. What's she to do in this case, as she could easily lose her seat at the next election if she's seen to go counter to her electorate and support Brexit. Her electorate is her first concern and duty, not a referendum result from people who did not elect her.


Herein lies the main danger of a referendum, especially one having a very slim majority. You don't, in the normal run of events, hear opposition MPs being slammed down in the name of democracy in the face of a slim mandate on the part of the government - or even a huge mandate, for that matter. They keep campaigning. If, as an opposition MP, you disagree with a government policy for which the government has a mandate, you don't just kow-tow to it - opposition is what Her Majesty's Opposition is all about. The clue is in the word 'opposition'.

Any opinions as to where  this MP's loyalty should lie?

A quick calculation:

Not exactly Utopia. It could be argued that the increase could be offset by the drop in the £, but we're assured by the Brexit camp that this is only temporary and due to short-term currency speculation. The above calculation is before any impact on the overall level of trade of price increases due to the higher tariffs. So much for bolstering the NHS with any savings...

I see the Marmite wars have begun with Morrison increasing the price at the till by a whopping 12.5% and tea traders saying the price of the national  brew is going to rise.


2 comments:

A Heron's View said...

Marmite can become the new British currency!

potty said...

Just as well we like it spread thinly.