MEP Article, warning it's pretty chilling.

[meridian]

Sure, you could check out details of every MEP online, if you had weeks of spare time, but where would that get you as you don't have any say in the election of most of them and you don't know who will be elected as the president?

As you say, why would you do that? You wouldn’t be any more likely to check the details of every MEP than you would to check every U.K. MP. But you can quite easily check the half dozen or so that represent you.

The fact that there is no equivalent of a PM is one reason why the European parliament is undemocratic as the record, speeches and appeal of a would be PM is, quite rightly, a major factor in elections. We should get to choose our leaders, not be led by people we have never heard of, chosen behind closed doors by other people we have never heard of.

It’s a different method of government. I don’t see why having no equivalent of a PM is “undemocratic”; if anything, having one “supreme leader” that could whip MEPs into voting their way would be less democratic.

We choose our leaders within the EU much as we do within the U.K. government - ie in all practical senses we get very little direct say at all. Even within HMG you personally get to vote for your local MP, and that’s it. You don’t choose the leaders, the deputies, the cabinet, nothing.

Also the EU parliament cannot propose laws, only vote on those put forward by the unelected commission.

The Commission isn’t directly elected, but each Commissioner is chosen by their own government and appointed by the Council (the collective heads of state) after approval by the European Parliament (elected MEPs). Not strictly democratic in the sense that you personally don’t get to vote for them, but arguably more democratic than, say, appointment to Cabinet positions in a U.K. government, where the HoC don’t get to review and approve the appointments beforehand.

[Mordac]

Chilling?
I'd see it as excellent. You're not forced to toe the party line, everything is debated rather than forced through and you're not controlled by whips.

If you don't "toe the party line" you won't make it onto the party list to be chosen as an MEP in the first place. And if you don't continue to do as you're told, you'll get removed from the list next time. MEPs (with the obvious exception of the anti-EU lot) are just a bunch of brown-nosing yes-men/women. A waste of expenses and oxygen, mostly.

[meridian]

If you don't "toe the party line" you won't make it onto the party list to be chosen as an MEP in the first place. And if you don't continue to do as you're told, you'll get removed from the list next time. MEPs (with the obvious exception of the anti-EU lot) are just a bunch of brown-nosing yes-men/women. A waste of expenses and oxygen, mostly.

So not a lot different from MPs then, where they do their stint losing in opposition-controlled areas to prove their loyalty to the party before being parachuted in to a nice “safe” seat, where if you don’t do what you’re told you get de-selected by the local association.

You do have a point about what they do, though. Apart from the obvious jibe about anti-EU MEPs doing even less than others (proven by attendance and voting records), at least many of the backbench MPs hold local surgeries.

(Out of interest I tried the contact page of a local MEP, the hyperlink for “Contact us” starts 192.168.0.28 so it might be difficult to email him....)

[Mordac]

So not a lot different from MPs then, where they do their stint losing in opposition-controlled areas to prove their loyalty to the party before being parachuted in to a nice “safe” seat, where if you don’t do what you’re told you get de-selected by the local association.

You do have a point about what they do, though. Apart from the obvious jibe about anti-EU MEPs doing even less than others (proven by attendance and voting records), at least many of the backbench MPs hold local surgeries.

(Out of interest I tried the contact page of a local MEP, the hyperlink for “Contact us” starts 192.168.0.28 so it might be difficult to email him....)

You should be able to ping him though...

[NotAllThere]

(Out of interest I tried the contact page of a local MEP, the hyperlink for “Contact us” starts 192.168.0.28 so it might be difficult to email him....)

I just had a check, and he's huddled up in a sleeping bag in my cellar, next to my NAS.

[cojak]

MEPs that really hardly any of us know or vote for then make up huge rafts of legislation which has to then be implemented.

A compromise is reached, because in her own words a compromise is how everything is done between vastly different interests. No party oversight, no debates in public and no opposition.

You can't make this up. You sell your democracy cheaply.

Then get to know them and then go out and vote for them.

It's called democracy. Just because you can't be arsed to get involved doesn't stop it from being a democracy.

[woohoo]

Then get to know them and then go out and vote for them.

It's called democracy. Just because you can't be arsed to get involved doesn't stop it from being a democracy.

Don't say im not arsed cojak, flippant and daft thing to type.

What about the other MEPs in the EU? How do i get to know them and see them. At least with a party you have an idea what their policies and views are. But what about the EU all the MEPs.

You call that democracy? I don't and read his words carefully.

[DaveB]

Don't say im not arsed cojak, flippant and daft thing to type.

What about the other MEPs in the EU? How do i get to know them and see them. At least with a party you have an idea what their policies and views are. But what about the EU all the MEPs.

You call that democracy? I don't and read his words carefully.

You could always try the EU Parliament website.

Full list of Political Groups in the European Parliament and their manifestos.

Full list of all MEP's with background, history of participation and contact details.

[woohoo]

You could always try the EU Parliament website.

Full list of Political Groups in the European Parliament and their manifestos.

Full list of all MEP's with background, history of participation and contact details.

That's the thing DaveB, you didnt go through all of them, i doubt anyone has apart from the poor bastard that has to update the website.

You have no idea what any of them represent or how 750 MEP's can get anything done other than compromise. I read the voting history of one of them and it's basically, I voted for it, it didnt do enough but it was a better than nothing.

This country is not perfect but I have two main parties, I can read the manifesto and get a flavour for what they will do. I can even speak to my MP, which I have done in the past and they can then raise that further. I can speak to my local councillors also, in fact I had a drink with a couple of them only recently.

When I vote I have a good idea of what policies affect me and I have a decent idea of my local representation.

Here we have 750 MEPs, various countries and various issues and beliefs. I really have no idea what any of them think, I'm not, your not going to read through their biographies. The first CV I read said studies philosophy and culture heritage, thats it one line. I have no idea if she has had a job or not or what her views are on anything.

[meridian]

You have no idea ... how 750 MEP's can get anything done other than compromise.

Oh boo boo, compromise. What a terrible thing.

I hate to invoke Godwin’s Law, but there’s probably a very good reason why the EU democratic system has been set up to prevent one person and one party being in total control.