reason why I am against this:Mr Hoon will argue that "international experience points to compulsory voting being the most effective way to increase turnout". It is "the most obvious way to bring those who feel alienated into the political process and the best means to enhance civic participation". It would also "bring back the sense that we can all work together".
Since becoming leader of the house, Mr Hoon has tried to prompt a debate about political alienation. He claims "any penalties should be modest and rather like the introduction of seatbelt legislation, would only require one or two cases to be brought to encourage everyone to participate"
- voting is a right, not a duty or obligation, therefore cannot be compulsory without it ceasing to be a right
- furthermore it's a right belonging to the people, not the government, so they have no business fucking with it
- low voter turnout is a symptom of a political culture degraded by the actions of government, not those of the governed. Government is remote because it pursues the interests of a (wealthy) minority and uses increasingly transparent propaganda to camouflage the fact
- Geoff Hoon is a scumbag who should be on trial for war crimes along with Rumsfeld
- the Labour government is casting about for something to distract us from their Iraq fiasco, and this is just another distraction
- Labour's alienation from its own working class roots expresses itself through a constant desire to 'punish' those same working class for 'betraying' it (note the suggestion that people be fined for not voting
) - instead of trying to win them back- they want to include the means for people to spoil their ballot papers or vote for 'none of the above', thereby negating the whole point of compulsory voting
I'm sure there are other reasons for opposing it...
