If today's events hadn't been so devastating for our democracy, I'd be laughing right now. Absurd though it may seem, the Scottish Parliament has just installed one of the losing candidates as its Presiding Officer. It was clearly the settled will of the chamber for Hugh Henry to be PO, as evidenced by his crushing victory over Christine Grahame and Tricia Marwick with an overwhelming 38.6% of the vote. Now, if it had been serious, that should have been it, innit, that's the British Way. But no. Under the crazy standing orders, we instead moved on to a farcical "second round" which allowed some MSPs to have their votes counted more than once, and after which a confused looking Ms Marwick was somehow declared the winner. Even more disgracefully, the second round is estimated to have cost decent, hard-working families up and down the land an eye-popping seven hundred and forty-eight billion pounds, as the extra ballot papers had to be specially shipped in from Brazil, and because Johann Lamont broke her pencil. Let's face it - we've just made ourselves the laughing-stock of the world.
When oh when is Holyrood going to restore some dignity to this country by introducing simple, cheap, fair One Person, One Vote? Isn't that what we fought the war for?
Not to mention the number of babies that died; the hospitals that were closed, and the old folk left without care.
ReplyDeleteIt's a scandal, a scandal I tell you, and someone should do something!!!
So there.
All joking aside James, I'm just glad the BNP were somehow thwarted from getting in. They're guaranteed to get in under preferential voting, you know.
ReplyDeleteThese are the two comments on this post that disappeared the other day -
ReplyDeleteTris : "Not to mention the number of babies that died; the hospitals that were closed, and the old folk left without care.
It's a scandal, a scandal I tell you, and someone should do something!!!
So there."
Doug Daniel : "All joking aside James, I'm just glad the BNP were somehow thwarted from getting in. They're guaranteed to get in under preferential voting, you know."