So recently I’ve started to realise that more of the country are unhappy with decisions made by the current government, than those that are happy with them. But if we live in a democracy, surely it should be the other way round? Here are some things (in my opinion) that we should seriously consider changing- not that we have a say in it anyway.
The majority of the country did not vote Conservative. 36.7% of the voting population actually voted for David Cameron and his party. 24% of the entire population if you include non-voters. The method called ‘First Past the Post’ that we use in elections has been abandoned by some countries, but hasn’t been adopted by any, so why do we still use it? The phrase ‘you can’t keep everyone happy’ just doesn’t cover it. The majority of the country aren’t happy, despite the fact that it’s supposed to be run by the majority!
Here’s another problem with our ‘democracy’. Once the party is in power, the chance of them listening to the people they’re representing before making a decision is about as likely as a pig flying. The most recent example of this is the new junior doctors’ contract Jeremy Hunt has decided to put in place despite the petitions against it- which accumulated over 200,000 signatures, and faced many protests throughout the country. The only reason there weren’t more strikes is that the doctors who are about to have their hours increased and pay cut, care too much about their patients. The hours they will have to work have been described as dangerous by NHS doctors, but Jeremy Hunt still refuses to meet with the people whose livelihoods he’s destroying. You’d think he would want to consult with the people he’s about to ruin the lives of, just to see if it might be a bad idea, making doctors work so hard they’re too tired to think, but no. Jeremy Hunt knows best. Clearly. Now because of Hunt’s sterling work, applications for doctors to work abroad have increased by 1000%. Perhaps they can wave goodbye to the NHS on their way to Australia.
Here’s the whole debacle explained for those that haven’t been keeping up http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/jeremy-hunt-the-junior-doctors-strike-and-dispute-explained
Something perhaps more relevant to us students is the never-ending rising cost of university tuition. When will it end? And aren’t we trying to close the wealth gap? We’re going to leave university with around £50,000 of debt before we even get a mortgage. And tuition fees are set to increase, maintenance grants are being wiped, and maintenance loans just aren’t enough. University is once again becoming available only to those who can afford it, as opposed to those who deserve a place. If the people that can’t afford university don’t go, the chances of them getting a well-paid job decrease massively, meaning their children will have exactly the same issue. The wealth gap will just go on increasing in a country that is apparently trying to break the class divide. One of the reasons for the Liberal Democrats doing so well all those years ago was because of their promise to keep tuition fees at £3,000 a year. Despite a provision in the coalition government meaning they could abstain on a proposed increase in fees, they still voted for the massive jump up. What is the point in voting for a party if they don’t stick to their manifesto?
Basically, even if a majority government genuinely meant the majority were represented, the policies we vote a party in for don’t necessarily reflect what’s going to happen in those five years they’re in power for. So goodbye guys, I’m moving to Australia.
Edited by India-Jayne Trainor
Sources:
http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/did-the-tories-really-win/16954#.VsXJ7_KLTIU
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/113064 petition gained 230,000
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/petition-against-junior-doctor-wage-cuts-in-england https://www.change.org/p/british-medical-association-support-a-strike-for-junior-doctors
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/10/22/nhs-unions-professionals-jere…