Democracy?

Are we really, as the establishment and local media would have us believe, living in a true democracy?

With only somewhere in the region of 30 per cent of the electorate voting. This is for a number of reasons. From feedback I have had and from my own expreiences from my elected "repesentatives" The vast majority of people who don't vote is because they say their elected "repesentatives" do not represent them.

Our represntatives are constantly voting in the States on one issue or the other. Never once have I, or anybody in my Parish to my knowledge, ever been contacted by either of our deputy's or our Connetable to attempt to gauge our thoughts, feelings, knowledge, experience on ONE issue that they have voted on in the States.

As far as I am aware our deputy's are in their position to be the voice of the electorate in the States. This Tuesday there is to be a vote of no confidence in our council of ministers and a vote of censure against Frank (GST 28) Walker.

None of my democratically elected "representatives" have contacted myself or anybody I know to either educate us, or ask us how we would like them to vote. If we were living in a Democracy where our elected officials wanted to represent us in the States, Why haven't any of them held an "open surgery" or any kind of a Parish meeting to discuss how we would like to be represented or how we would like them to vote for us?

I'm certain if this vote of no confidence in our council of ministers was to go to a refferendum then it would be a landslide victory for Senator Syvrets proposition. However as the electorate have no say in the matter, our "representatives" will be voting for us, against us!

The reason our "Democratically elected representatives" vote how they please with total disregard to the electorate is simple, it's because they can!! The 30 per cent who do vote are friends family and neighbours of the candidate and are predominantly establishment voters.
People way above the breadline, well to do families, people who don't have to watch every penny, people who can afford central heating and have it switched on when they are cold.

The people who don't vote are the ones that get shat on the most, the working class, the single parent family struggling to make ends meet who have to pay GST to keep the finance Industry happy. If these people were to come out and vote they wouldn't be shat on as much and would have to be listened to but whilst none of them are voting, none of them can have a voice.

A little while ago I was having e-mail correspondance with one of my deputys, Deputy Ian (GST 28) Gorst. I was publishing the e-mails on a blogsite. Deputy Ian (GST 28) Gorst became aware of this and started each e-mail with the words "confidential for addressee only" When I asked him the other night why he did this he said because I was publishing them on a blogsite and he had no way of commenting on them.

I explained it is very easy to leave a comment and I was a little concerned he didn't want our correspondance to be open to the electorate but he wouldn't answer me why.

I am going to send Deputy Ian (GST 28) Gorst a link to this page in the hope he will address my concerns by leaving a comment on here and hopefully explain to me how he believes (if he does) we are living in a Democracy. Why he voted for GST, why he voted AGAINST any exemptions and why he never appears to engage with the electorate before voting on anything.

I don't wish to appear unfair to Deputy Ian (GST 28) Gorst by singling him out as he is one of a multitude of elected officials who are voting on our behalf without consulting us or even trying to explain to us why they voted the way they did. But he is my Democratically elected official and is up for election this year so would like to offer him a bit of a platform for his campaign and offer him the opportunity of some openness and transparency, and at the same time perhaps help educate me and others in our Deomocratic prossess.

I'll leave you with this. If you don't vote, you haven't got the right to complain and get the politicians you deserve. GET REGISTERED TO VOTE!!!!!!!!!