FOLLOWING on from a Government Minister’s rejection of 60 per cent of voters in Somerset’s desire for a two-tier unitary system of local government and having the one-tier system foisted upon us at the behest of county leader David Fothergill and the Tory-controlled council, it now appears that there’s what is deemed to be an ‘election bill’ being debated in Parliament, as to how forms of all elections in England are to change.

The five-year term for national government agreed a few years ago is abolished, in favour of the prime minister of the day calling elections as and when he or she wishes, and favourable to their party winning.

This current election bill, should it become law, will be the most dangerous piece of legislation to be passed in living memory, even surpassing the war-time policies of the 1939-1945 coalition government, led by Sir Winston Churchill.

The Government’s reasoning for such a bill is to make elections secure, fair, modern, transparent and inclusive. 

Also included in this bill are fraud and stolen votes. In essence, it’s a deliberate attempt by Johnson’s right-wing government at another power grab, as they’ve already done at local government level.

The Tories love power, always have and always will. 

In Tory fairyland, myths of being born to rule the one-nation Tory mantra, if it even existed at all, was and could suit those within their tribe, living in cloud cuckoo land. 
The most controversial piece of this bill is that voters must show photo ID before picking up a ballot paper at the polling station.

Poor people, who are very unlikely to vote Tory, wouldn’t have any ID. 

It will put many of the people like this off voting at all, which would further the cause of right-wing elected dictatorships forever and a day.

What a gloomy day that would be for the non-Tory vote, who believe in democracy, freedom and social justice.

All the arguments for bringing in such a draconian law are a flawed concept. Stolen votes, fraud are very, very rare in English elections. Transparency and security have never been a problem. 

Yes, it is outdated, long past its sell-by date. First-past-the-post voting, not seen in any other civilised country, means it takes 38,000 votes to elect Tory MPs, 50,000 votes to elect Labour MPs, 300,000 votes to elect Liberal and Green MPs, but only 25,000 votes to elect Scottish Nationalist MPs.

Boris Johnson’s 2019 general election victory was achieved by only 38 per cent of the electorate giving Tories an 80-seat mandate over all other parties.

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Michael Gove, the Tories’ answer to brilliant intellectual Einstein, Daily Mail garbage, is putting in changes to how opposition parties can engage in any future election and of overseeing the so-called impartial boundaries commission, whose review of Parliamentary boundaries will once again benefit the Tories, gaining 30 seats.

Michael Gove is prepared to ignore falling in line with the all-powerful Electoral Commission. 

The modern-day Tory party only believes in democracy and freedom of choice on their terms. 

As a civilised country, we are going backwards.

Homelessness, foodbanks and inequality are at an all-time high. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and nothing changes for masses of ordinary people.
The so-called ‘loony left’ were deemed to be politically dangerous. How things have changed. It’s the ‘looney right’ wing of politics that is very dangerous, not only in the UK, but across the world.

Populism, Brexiteers, aggressive nationalism and a bogus patriotism are contributing to once-hallowed freedoms and democracy being marginalised.

Maybe it’s helpful to be a Tory donor. I can think of many other civilised ways of spending my money.

ALAN FOYLE
Taunton