I know it's a democracy, but. . .

peter_the_piper

Who would you replace the Royals with? Brown, Blair, Cameron, MP's. On the basis of the above I'd rather stick with the Royals.

Jaffa.

I always read the leaflets that get posted through the door, shame I'm not old enough to vote though

el_gringo_3

Its not a democracy. Britain is actually a lot closer to a Polyarchy.

WhatFrickingUsernameIsnt

peter_the_piper wrote: »

Who would you replace the Royals with? Brown, Blair, Cameron, MP's. On the basis of the above I'd rather stick with the Royals.

A head of state directly elected by the people and bound to a full and written constitution. As is the case in every other modern country.

The Monarchy costs 10x the German and 100x the Irish presidency and that is before we take into account all they money that is undeclared such as security and the jaunts in private jets by minor Royals on "official" business.

Whats worse is we have "President" Charles on the horizon, who is making it clear he has no interest in being a passive King.

Fire_Fox

margaretclare wrote: »

I believe it says in the Representation of the People Acts that it is your right to receive leaflets or mail from any of the political parties which have candidates standing, on the grounds that you then make a free choice based on knowledge. How are you to vote if you know nothing about the party or individual candidate that you're voting for?

Use the internet? If Susan Boyle can get millions of YouTube hits in the space of a few weeks ....

margaretclare wrote: »

I've been out leafleting for the English Democrats and I don't regard our leaflets as 'junk mail'. They give information about our candidates and what our party is all about. This is especially important if you're a newer, smaller party without the resources and manpower of the 'big three', which also means we don't get a mention in the media. People are entitled to know.

The Post Office don't consider the pizza and double glazing flyers that litter our communal hallway 'junk mail' either. IMHO anything that the vast majority of households receive unsolicited and discard unread is junk. None of the political leaflets contain unbiased information, they are advertising. If you had a decent press office/ advertising team you'd be able to create a buzz and get your party known.

custardy

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Use the internet? If Susan Boyle can get millions of YouTube hits in the space of a few weeks ....



The Post Office don't consider the pizza and double glazing flyers that litter our communal hallway 'junk mail' either. IMHO anything that the vast majority of households receive unsolicited and discard unread is junk. None of the political leaflets contain unbiased information, they are advertising. If you had a decent press office/ advertising team you'd be able to create a buzz and get your party known.

you realise RM only deliver (outwith election times) 3 items per week?
there are many companys of varying size delivering these items

Morglin

yorksrabbit wrote: »

. . . is there any way to block the delivery of political pamphlets at election time???

I know I can bin 'em unread, just like any other junk mail, and I also know that if I lived in Bristol, Royal Mail's trade union members wouldn't deliver BNP material (not because they're abusing their position for political reasons, rather that they genuinely are sensitive souls.)

But I keep entertaining the naive notion that at least one leaflet might contain something to redeem the British political process. Instead:

Today I have received "A message from Bob Crow" on behalf of the, er, No 2 Eu 'party' which concludes:

'We need to send a message to politicians that they have no right to give away our democratic rights to decide how we are governed."

(Surely, this can't be the same Bob Crow who regularly decides to remove passengers' rights to travel on the London Underground??)

Then there's the Labour Party's leaflet, also received today:

"Labour: Winning the fight for Britain's future"

Er, how come after 12 years in office there's any kind of "fight" at all? I thought 12 years ago, the future was assured? I mean, that's what Labour said back then.

And what's this about "Labour stands up for hard-working British people"? Was that before or after removing the 10p tax band and advantaging the better-off, many of whom weren't actually working hard anyway but bankrupting our financial institutions?

And what's this here: "This is the ballot paper you will be given when you go to your local polling station. Place a cross in the box next to Labour."

What happened to: "please?" Or: "We'd be ever so grateful, ducks, if you'd place your little cross next to Labour"?

As for the Tories, they seem congenitally incapable of even basic communication. Instead, I've received a phony newspaper with phony reports by a phony (and illiterate) "journalist" where the candidate necessarily appears only in the third person: Mr Smith says this, Mr Smith is doing that, Mr Smith is calling upon the Government to note that.

Why the hell can't Mr Smith tell me himself?

Or is he just as phony as the daft rubbish his party is putting out?

Binning this crap is a great solution for those who can resist the temptation to read it. Sadly, I can't. Hence the question: would Royal Mail block the transmission of electoral gibberish if I ask nicely?

No you can't choose not to get junk mail - do what I and most others do, take them from the letterbox and put them in the bin.

At least politicians no longer bother to keep knocking on the door.:rolleyes:


Lin

Pound

I'm not going to vote for any politician, whichever one I vote for will go against they promises and do whatever they choose to do. How is that a democracy?

Fire_Fox

custardy wrote: »

you realise RM only deliver (outwith election times) 3 items per week?
there are many companys of varying size delivering these items

The postman has a swipe fob to access our block's postboxes. One of our relief posties has a nice line in leaving all his spares in a neat pile on the foyer floor: I consider this littering. I have been in contact with Royal Mail regarding this and, so far, only once have they denied liability. You may think it's 'only' three times a week - I find it a waste of paper and my time having to walk for 15 minutes to the nearest recycling centre.

Fruitcake

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Apparently it does not mean no political junk mail. I am registered with MPS and Royal Mail, but still occasionally get a hit of unaddressed stuff. When I put a sign on my box asking for no junk mail, I regularly got sweet wrappers.

Bumped into our regular postie the other day who, on seeing me go to my box, advised me that he had to deliver the political leaflets! Wasn't too impressed as that day's offering was BNP - I didn't fancy carting it to work and home again for recycling as I usually would. :rolleyes:

I am registered with TPS but cold calls from political parties are exempt from this, thanks to a certain Mr 2 Jags who tabled a motion that became law. I assume a similar [STRIKE]fiddle[/STRIKE] perfectly legal exemption exists for the written word.