Tuesday 1 October 2013

Tories And Democracy

Readers may recall that I stood in May as a UKIP paper candidate where the Tory incumbent lost the seat to an independent by fewer than 100 votes (I got 167). The Tory incumbent took the view I cost him the seat and lost his temper at the count. Such arrogance from the Tory party over UKIP has long ceased to be a surprise.

And 4 months later it would seem he still hasn't come to terms with his defeat. This morning he contacted, as a customer, Mrs TBF at work. During an initially friendly conversation it emerged that he was the Town councillor for where we live. When Mrs TBF mentioned the May elections, his tone changed from one of being friendly to one of indignance;
"Yes, I lost my seat to some independent".
The arrogance of office (or lack of) shines through. My seat? Try the term "the electorate's seat". As for "some independent" well he has a name, a name that Bill Service is fully aware of given he works with him on the Town Council.

Mrs TBF then revealed, rather mischievously I think, that her husband had stood against him in May as a UKIP candidate. The response?
"So it was your husband that cost me my votes"
My seat? My votes? In some ways the exchange was rather amusing - that he's still smarting many months after the election. However it does highlight the failings in a supposed system of democracy which allows an incumbent to remain in place long enough in order to take it for granted, to the extent that any kind of accountability takes him by surprise.

5 comments:

  1. A little humility on this man's part would not come amiss. But humility doesn't have any financial rewards associated with it, so he's unlikely to even contemplate learning to acquire it.

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    1. Yes indeed, and it didn't seem to dawn on him that he was not only talking to my wife, which he was aware of, but a potential voter. Being arrogant towards the electorate is not necessarily the best way to win...

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  2. its so common these days I cringe everytime I hear this type of thing.

    My Votes, My Seat, My Party, My Government etc.

    The one thing it does ensure, however, is that anyone who utters anything of this sort is certainly not going to be lent MY vote.

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    1. "My Government" is another of my pet hates, Brown, Cameron and Miliband have all used the term. Aside from the fact it is techinically "Her Majesty's Government" ultimately it's ours - the people's.

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    2. You are correct that it is "our government" but not in the sense of our "owning" that government. It's "ours" rather in the sense that it happens to be the one we've got. Accordingly, I fear that they're being entirely accurate here. It is their government: the government of the UK is not chosen by me - or you - except in the sense that we are given the opportunity to take part in a 5-yearly charade where choice lies effectively between 3 parties whose policies are a cigarette paper apart.
      In reality, of course, as your postings illustrate, it's not actually their government either: the "real" government is the one in Brussels.

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