Time to vote for None of the Above
Party politics is a big turn-off, so why not join me in the fastest growing political movement, writes Bill Jamieson
Arising tide is set to engulf politics – and not before time. Forget the dismal same-again party choices. Instead, join the fastest growing new movement that is striking terror into the heart of the political elite.
Labour is still embroiled in leadership discontent and antisemitism charges. Talk of a new centre-left party founders on memories of past failures. The
SNP is struggling to emerge from the controversy that has engulfed its former leader and win traction for a lacklustre government programme.
Conservative party membership is in freefall; once more than 2.5 million in the early 1950s, it is now down to a paltry 124,000, one thousand fewer than the SNP – and support for the Prime Minister has melted.
Party politics today is a turnoff, made all the worse by the shambles and confusion over Brexit. The Prime Minister’s Chequers plan is struggling to hold support within the Cabinet, never mind the broader party membership, much of which is in open revolt.
Millions feel that the UK’S mainstream parties do not just hold little appeal but that their leaderships repel them. But should they be downhearted? Not a bit. For growing numbers are falling in step with the fastest growing movement of them all. And it is set for a spectacular showing in the next general election.
Come and join! It is open to all ages, all faiths, classes, nationalities and ethnic backgrounds. Welcome to The Stay Away Party, aka the I’m Not Voting League and None of The Above Alliance.
It may not register on the Westminster fixated BBC and those discredited opinion polls – the ones that confidently predicted a Remain vote in the EU referendum and a solid Conservative victory in the last election, forecasts that were slavishly followed by a national broadcaster staffed by metropolitans aghast at the Leave vote. But the numbers of Stay-aways in the next election are set to be counted in millions.
You don’t have to look far to see how deeply the dissatisfaction has set in. Labour and SNP membership numbers may look healthy enough. But noisy Corbynistas do not signify a broadening tide of support across the country at large.
Equally, the SNP can boast impressive numbers. But outside the ranks of those passionately committed to a second referendum, there is little sign of a growing appetite among Scottish voters for a re-run of the bitter and devisive independence battle. Too many politicians who swore they would honour the outcome of the EU and Scottish independence referendums have since gone back on their word and now call for a re-run because the first ones displeased them. So much for respecting the wishes of voters.
Meanwhile, Nicola Sturgeon’s minority SNP administration struggles to rally support, faced with figures showing
record dissatisfaction with key services for which her administration is responsible. The Scottish Household Survey for 2017 reported satisfaction with local health services, schools and public transport was at its lowest level since the SNP took office in 2007. Just 52 per cent of people were content with all three services, down from 57 per cent a decade ago and markedly down from a peak of 66 per cent in 2011.
Separate data showed waiting times for child mental health services hit a record low from April and June, with almost onethird of children in need of help waiting more than the 18-week target.
The Programme for Government was also branded a “hangover from last year” as new bills were outnumbered by key pieces of legislation left over from 2017-18.
As for the economy, there has been little discernible improvement as a result of devolution – but a huge increase in the cost and reach of government. Business rates have mushroomed and taxes for middle and higher earners have been raised, putting many at a disadvantage compared to their counterparts in the rest of the UK.
Indeed, when it comes to demands for a second referendum, why not add a second vote on devolution to the list? Did we really know what we were voting for? Were many not swayed by narrow nationalism and xenophobia? Were we not sold a false prospectus given that outcomes have fallen well behind expectation? And what of the costs of the parliament, its MSPS and quangos and ever more “free” facilities such as state guardians and personal hygiene products for women? Did we really vote for all that?
Elsewhere the collapse in support for the Conservatives is now widely evident. The party’s election gains in Scotland would be reversed if a snap vote was held on the Chequers deal on Brexit – and it hardly looks as if the “modernising” leadership of Ruth Davidson has held up support. Ayr, Gordon and Stirling would all be lost to the SNP, according to marketing research company IQR. Overall 73 per cent of voters were dissatisfied with the Government’s handling of Brexit negotiations and 45 per cent of voters believed Chequers was bad for their family compared to 19 per cent who thought the plan was good.
Said former Tory MSP Brian Monteith, now director of communications at Global Britain: “The clear message for any Conservative MP, whether in a Leave or Remain constituency, is ‘back Chequers and pay the price at the ballot box’. Chequers will not deliver Brexit, it will deliver Corbyn.”
Little wonder, given what is on offer, that many now find themselves faced with a choice they have no inclination to make. As matters now stand, it is between a Tory leader who has made such a hash of Brexit – “incompetent” in the scathing verdict of former Bank of England Governor Mervyn King this week – an SNP with a tired and uninspiring programme, and a Labour leader far removed from the views and concerns of Middle Britain.
That is why not voting now looks the most rational choice to make. Indeed, the only way this appalling choice can be changed is for sufficient numbers of people to indicate their intention to abstain.
Nothing would more challenge the legitimacy of such an undesirable and unrepresentative outcome. Radicals and traditionalists, Leavers and Remainers, young and old: we have nothing to lose by a revolt of “None of the Above”.
It was Winston Churchill who said “democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others” and he’s right. Our democratic system is facing huge tests and appearing increasingly dysfunctional to some, whilst distasteful to others. Most Western democracies are likewise challenged with declining participation and rising populist parties. But, what’s the alternative?
Notionally to be fair, all appears reasonably healthy in the UK, according to recent statistics. Membership of Labour is currently standing at 540,000 – not what it had in its heyday but still a reasonable figure. The SNP is at a remarkable 125,000, though much seems predicated on a declaration of faith by people on the constitution, as much as a commitment to the party itself. But, still, far healthier than the Tories on 124,000 across the entire UK.
But, drill down and the figures become much more troubling. More than half are social class ABC1 and the average age for the members of all three major parties is in the 50s. Young people and the poor seem either marginalised or demotivated and that’s not good for the body politic.
It is, perhaps, understandable when you consider the current political position. A UK Government riven with dissent and unable to agree on the most important issue facing the entire country in more than a generation. Not only can they not agree on Brexit but the animus is palpable, making a nest of vipers look positively benign.
They can neither agree what Brexit is – witness the contempt shown by Davis and Johnson to the supposed Chequers Agreement that they initially signed up for – nor can they put forward any coherent alternative proposals.
Whilst Boris Johnson may be scheming to bring Theresa May down, it seems more a case of simply trying to install himself in Number 10, than change the position on Brexit. As the EU stiffens its resolve, it’s hard to see how even his apparently more belligerent position would achieve a different outcome and he shamefully cannot even detail it. The disaster of a no-deal Brexit therefore looms ever closer and, as with our system of government, it seems it’s about obtaining the least bad option.
But the options are limited. A Tory Party coup looks as if it would simply change the incumbent rather than solve the problem. Whoever inherited the position would likely face similar discontent just from a different wing, as the slain faction sought revenge. The dysfunction would simply continue under new leadership.
In a democracy, there’s supposed to be an alternative. In this country, geared towards a two-party system, an election was supposed to offer an opportunity to change the democratically elected regime. From the corn laws to tax and the welfare state, Tory faced Liberal, then Labour who offered a clear alternative.
Yet, an election – viewed by many as more likely than another vote on Brexit – wouldn’t necessarily or perhaps even likely solve the problem. Current polling would have the Tories returned though further depleted, the impasse remaining even if under a new leader. The alternative would be a minority Labour administration which still might not offer a solution.
They’re led by someone who appears to be a closet Brexiteer and, as a party, are equally riven by dissent and discord, appearing incapable of agreeing what their position on Europe is, other than condemning the Tories. Whilst, as the adage goes, it’s governments that lose elections, rather than oppositions that win them, this is still a charade with little, if no, alternative being offered on Brexit. A minority Labour administration would be no more capable of steering a way through the parliamentary morass than the current incumbents.
The solution often invoked in such times is to simply take the issue to the people, rather than put the parties before the electorate. But, yet again, referenda on the major constitutional issues may also be equally incapable of fully resolving affairs. There seems to have been a swing away from Brexit and a rerun may see Remain win, as referenda are usually won by the side most motivated. Many Leave voters may simply stay at home, disillusioned if not dissuaded, but any majority would be far from overwhelming, leaving deep disaffection with the democratic process, even if it saved the country from falling off the cliff edge.
The situation on Scottish Independence is likewise unclear; the majority who backed Yes in a recent poll may not have considered the possibility of a hard border which could frighten many. The impasse of two finely balanced sides still appears to remain on the Scottish constitutional question. No side getting a clear lead and the position arguably more uncertain.
So, democracy’s being challenged, as well as undermined and distorted – whether by Russia’s Putin or populists. It’s not yet a crisis, but it’s not good. It’ll trundle on as Northern Ireland did despite the absence of a government and as Belgium was previously required to do. Bureaucrats running the state and life going on regardless for ordinary people.
But, it’s not healthy for democracy. It’s still better than all the other forms of government but it needs to be cherished. The right to vote for women has rightly been celebrated recently and whilst researching an aspect of Scottish history I was humbled to come across stories of those transported to Botany Bay, simply for the audacity of seeking the franchise.
As a politician, I always found it dispiriting when people said they didn’t vote and encouraged them to do so, irrespective who for. The independence referendum at least engaged people in politics as public debate, as not just the turnout showed. But, I can sympathise when it’s the body politic itself that seems dysfunctional.
Our current democracy isn’t vibrant and, increasingly, politicians are held in contempt. There’s no quick or simple fix but political alternatives and, fundamentally, solutions need to be offered by democracy. When that fails, people turn away and that’s compounded by the behaviour of politicians and parties.
It’s not a fascist coup that threatens our democracy, but the rot that’s spreading from within.