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Internet democracy backfires on Brown

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    Internet democracy backfires on Brown

    For an unbiased view of what's happening in the UK, perhaps one should read the Chinese press

    UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown does not have his troubles to seek at the moment. A fleeting success in organizing the G20 summit was further undermined this week when Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk became the latest in a series of Western leaders lining up to tell Brown that his solution to the economic crisis – massive fiscal stimulus (in Britain's case funded entirely by borrowing) – is no good.

    This week a petition calling on him simply to "resign" became the most popular petition on the official website of the Prime Minister's Office.

    E-petitions in the UK were implemented some years ago by a government keen to show its e-credentials. Members of the public are invited to propose petitions which will then be allowed to run and collect support on the Downing Street website. Unfortunately they have proved something of a mixed blessing. In 2007, when the system was still being piloted, a petition against the government policy of road-pricing obtained a massive 1.8 million+ signatures. The then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, emailed all the signatories to tell them that the government intended to go ahead with its plans anyway.

    Generally, petitions achieve only a few dozen signatures. Of 4752 petitions currently live on the site, only 116 have attracted more than 1000 signatures. But last week a petition submitted by Mr Kalvis Jansons, calling on the Prime Minister simply to "resign", caught the imagination of a frustrated public. Within a matter of days, the petition had shot to the top of the charts. It currently has over 31,000 signatures, and given that it is due to run until October 2009 many more can be expected.

    Worse news was to follow for Mr Brown. A counter-petition submitted by a supporter, Bob Roberts, calling on the Prime Minister to "carry on leading this great country of ours", has attracted only a couple of dozen supporters. Among these few even fewer appear to be genuine, while most are obviously phony and regularly have to be deleted.

    Mr Roberts is a well-known Labor supporter who posts regularly on a wide variety of political blogs in the UK. His petition has attracted the support of such individuals as "I. Wright" (= "Aye right!", a common Scottish expression denoting skepticism or disbelief), "Joy Wendy Endcomes"(= "Joy when the end comes" – a reference to Mr Brown's departure), and "Ivor Broquen-Printer" (= "I've a broken printer" – a reference to the PM's reputation for breaking equipment when angered).

    Mr Roberts is a well-known Labor supporter who posts regularly on a wide variety of political blogs in the UK. His petition has attracted the support of such individuals as "I. Wright" (= "Aye right!", a common Scottish expression denoting skepticism or disbelief), "Joy Wendy Endcomes"(= "Joy when the end comes" – a reference to Mr Brown's departure), and "Ivor Broquen-Printer" (= "I've a broken printer" – a reference to the PM's reputation for breaking equipment when angered).

    The tattered remnants of the Prime Minister's credibility took another blow Thursday when his government was defeated in Parliament on a Bill which sought to restrict the right of settlement in Britain of Nepalese Gurkhas who have served in and fought with the British Forces. Yesterday he faced another defeat on a hasty and ill-judged measure to assuage public anger by establishing some measure of control over MPs' expenses.

    At Party level his colleagues are mired in a series of distasteful personal and professional embarrassments that have been exacerbated by a repeated failure to address genuine public concerns: a sordid sex scandal involving MP Nigel Griffiths in his parliamentary office has been swept under the carpet with the assistance of the Commissioner for Parliamentary Standards; Home Secretary Jacqui Smith appears to devote most of her attention to swindling the public of hundreds of thousands of pounds in expenses that are invariably "all in accordance with the rules"; Labor Lords Taylor of Blackburn and Truscott, who have just been found guilty by their peers of agreeing to accept cash in exchange for amending Parliamentary legislation, are to escape with a slap on the wrist; an apology had to be dragged out of the Prime Minister following the leak of information on an ugly campaign of lies and smears orchestrated by one of his closest advisors, civil servant Damian McBride.

    Labor supporters in general, and his Parliamentary colleagues in particular, appear to be running out of patience with Mr Brown. There is increasing talk of a resignation, and the smart money is moving rapidly in the direction of sooner rather than later. Perhaps the Downing Street Petitioners will have their wish, long before they reach their hoped-for target of one million signatures.

    (China.org.cn May 1, 2009)
    Work in the public sector? Read the IR35 FAQ here

    #2
    The petition is still #1 at 44341 sigs but the best ever so far is the "scrap the vehicle tracking / road pricing" petition that got 1.8 million at the close, so there really is a long way to go but I think/hope "resign" deserves to get a million.
    Moving to Montana soon, gonna be a dental floss tycoon

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by TheRefactornator View Post
      a sordid sex scandal involving MP Nigel Griffiths in his parliamentary office has been swept under the carpet with the assistance of the Commissioner for Parliamentary Standards
      Oh yeah? They're right,I've never heard of this!

      <Trundles over to the blogosphere to do a nbit of digital digging...>
      "I can put any old tat in my sig, put quotes around it and attribute to someone of whom I've heard, to make it sound true."
      - Voltaire/Benjamin Franklin/Anne Frank...

      Comment


        #4
        Right here we are...

        <rustles digital paper>

        http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...sex-shame.html

        I kept the URL as it is 'cos I love the title... (and it slaps it over the interweb...)

        I particularly like...

        "Mr Griffiths initially denied being unfaithful to his wife of 30 years, but admitted that the encounter with an un-named woman had taken place after a Sunday tabloid produced photographs of their tryst on a sofa in his Parliamentary office."

        How on earth did they get the photos??? Did he leave the curtains open (which was stupid - doing it at your workplace, I ask you... ) or did they plant a secret camera (which is illegal in itself..).

        so many questions...

        PS. I've answered my own question - Mr Griffiths must be the most stupid moronic MP there, and that's saying something...

        "When first approached, Mr Griffiths is said to have described the claims as: "absolutely groundless," only admitting that they were true after the News of the World printed photographs of the hour-long liaison, which the pair themselves are thought to have taken. "
        Last edited by cojak; 2 May 2009, 15:51. Reason: I finished reading the article..
        "I can put any old tat in my sig, put quotes around it and attribute to someone of whom I've heard, to make it sound true."
        - Voltaire/Benjamin Franklin/Anne Frank...

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by cojak View Post
          did they plant a secret camera (which is illegal in itself..).
          It's not illegal, just inadmissible in court, but okay for tabloid...

          Comment


            #6
            Tabloid pulls off honey trap shocker!
            The court heard Darren Upton had written a letter to Judge Sally Cahill QC saying he wasn’t “a typical inmate of prison”.

            But the judge said: “That simply demonstrates your arrogance continues. You are typical. Inmates of prison are people who are dishonest. You are a thoroughly dishonestly man motivated by your own selfish greed.”

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by cojak View Post
              Oh yeah? They're right,I've never heard of this!

              <Trundles over to the blogosphere to do a nbit of digital digging...>
              The real story wasn't published. I'm at a media company, and it's common knowledge there what really happened (and the photos were staged a couple of days later).
              Work in the public sector? Read the IR35 FAQ here

              Comment

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