Yes, it is what we hold so dear, yet I am seeing no change when one party changes for another and all the time the country is going down the pan. Silly laws passed, people victimised, constant barrages of media spin and amongst all this are a load of 'fat cats' sitting at the top, only showing their faces when it suits them, never answering questions and using our money to fund their own personal quests. Look back to the 40's when Winston Churchill was in power - people cheering him in the streets and even now, he is a symbol of Britain. Is charisma dead?

Is it really worth bothering to vote when all partys are acting in such a self-centered way? Whatever box is ticked, the result is the same. This country needs a total shake-up with something like a brand new party that actually is interested in the country they are governing and not syphoning funds. We need leaders who we can trust - leaders who when you vote for them you feel that voting is worthwhile.

RT

Lets also look to how Churchill did in the post-war election while we are eulogising him and creating myths.

Yes, time moves on and the public wanted a new leader - one who was better suited to peacetime, but what we need now is a leader with a similar sence of purpose and a good way of getting public support. A leader to lead us - not flounder.

I must agree with you Teddy - I just got my voting form and thought "really, why bother? It makes no difference - they are all useless and terrified of brain dead tabloid headline writers".

On the sbject of Churchill, after the public had given someone "better suited to peace time" a chance, they again voted for Churchill. So let's not dismiss his contributions to this nations so easily.

As for present day elections. The fact is that somebody will be elected to government whether we consider voting a waste of time or not. We usually have choices of fringe candidates. In the Hartlepool elections for Mayor, the people voted for the mascot of the local football team who stood as a joke candidate. They did this as a protest against mainstream politics. This mascot had dressed as a monkey throughout the campaign, and he was a loner who lived with his parents (a psychological profiler's dream), but once elected he proved to be a very good mayor (minus the monkey suit). He was then re-elected and remains in office today. So the fringe candidates might not always be a waste of a vote. If you're fed up with mainstream politics, give your vote to a no-hoper'. If enough people do that, things might indeed change.

I agree..all we really have in just about the entire western world now is 2 main political parties that are almost identical.

30 years ago it was so different. Although I come from a long line of Labour Party people , there was always respect for both sides as most MPs really were sort of more "idealistic".

Now they're really in for all the rorts they can get when they leave office.