Viewing 22 posts - 1 through 22 (of 22 total)
  • The change to the purdah rules for the EU election
  • epicyclo
    Full Member

    The govt wants to change the rules on purdah before the EU election.

    Why?

    Many of us in Scotland think the govt’s behaviour in the Scottish referendum was suspect, and they certainly breached purdah.

    It will certainly be worth watching the postal vote.
    (Some Labour supporters point out the improbablity of the postal vote in the referendum.)

    I am happy enough to stay in the EU, so I won’t be upset if that’s the result, but I hope it will be done cleanly.

    If you want out of the EU, should you should be concerned?

    mt
    Free Member

    You are right on the concern if you want an out vote. Given that almost all senior politicians want us to vote to stay in the government with the support of most parties will turn a blind eye. That’s democracy for you 🙄

    bencooper
    Free Member

    Also, Labour could have defeated the Tories on this, with 27 Tory defectors and the SNP. But they didn’t, they abstained.

    What’s the point of an opposition party that doesn’t oppose anything?

    http://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2015/jun/16/cameron-faces-tory-revolt-over-purdah-rules-in-eu-referendum-bill-politics-live

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    jambalaya
    Free Member

    If you want out of the EU, should you should be concerned?

    Yes as the funding bias will be significant between the two campaigns if the Yes has access to state money

    bencooper
    Free Member

    Though in this case (unlike the independence referendum) the media will be much more split between Yes and No.

    MoreCashThanDash
    Full Member

    Great, another topic that purdah and the Civil Service Code won’t let me post on! 🙄

    Though I rarely have anything to say of any worth….

    jambalaya
    Free Member

    Though I rarely have anything to say of any worth….

    We all know that’s a not a posting requirement here 😀

    the media will be much more split between Yes and No.

    Do you think, I was assuming it would be pretty much all Yes ?

    MSP
    Full Member

    It isn’t an EU election, it is a referendum on EU membership.

    bikebouy
    Free Member

    I shall be locked to my unbiased BBC News reporting for both sides of the story.
    I expect we will be subject to iPhone/Social Media wobble shots of random Journo’s attempting to fit in the Northern Fifth, whilst conversing in Salfordshire mother tongue.

    🙄

    #lazyjournolism

    bencooper
    Free Member

    Do you think, I was assuming it would be pretty much all Yes ?

    You reckon all the right-wing papers will be in favour of staying in the EU?

    binners
    Full Member

    What’s the point of an opposition party that doesn’t oppose anything?

    I think thats the debate presently taking place within the labour party, as part of the larger question: what is the point of the labour party? No…really…. what?

    Anyway, this is all minor. What we need to look out for is if the electorate deliver the wrong result, and by default, Brussells does what its aways done with referenda in the past, and orders the electorate to go away and repeat the excercise until they come bck with the right one.

    Democracy EU style 😀

    Northwind
    Full Member

    I don’t think anyone thinks they paid much heed to purdah in spirit or letter in the last referendum so why are the rules important this time?

    ninfan
    Free Member

    I suspect they want to change the rules due to the likelihood of last minute concessions by the EU if it looks like we are going to vote to leave.

    Which, realistically, wouldn’t be a bad thing for anyone who thinks we ought to stay in.

    What’s the point of an opposition party that doesn’t oppose anything?

    What? You think they should just oppose anything the government says or does, regardless of whether it serves their own preferred outcome, just because they are in opposition?

    seosamh77
    Free Member

    bencooper – Member
    Also, Labour could have defeated the Tories on this, with 27 Tory defectors and the SNP. But they didn’t, they abstained.

    What’s the point of an opposition party that doesn’t oppose anything?What’s the point of the labour party is a more apt question.

    jambalaya
    Free Member

    What’s the point of an opposition party that doesn’t oppose anything?

    You are only supposed to oppose things you don’t agree with. The Labour party are EU Yes and the government’s position favours that stance. The SNP voted against as they are keen to vote against the government even if it makes no sense as to defeat the government would have helped the No campaign.

    munrobiker
    Free Member

    The details in your link epicyclo tell me that postal voters have different views to people able to get to the polling station and turned out in much greater numbers than normal because they care more about what they are voting for. I think a bigger review than a small group of people who didn’t get the result they were after would be needed. And from memory there was quite a swing towards the yes vote towards the end of the campaign, by which time many postal voters may have already voted.

    As for the posts above about a bias towards the north and an in vote for The EU referendum, are you watching the same TV as everyone else or do they beam a station specially to your houses? From where I am sat the bias towards leaving the EU and southern view points and reporters, even on the BBC, is enormous.

    kimbers
    Full Member

    bencooper – Member
    You reckon all the right-wing papers will be in favour of staying in the EU?

    be interesting to see which way murdoch jumps, he was instrumental in helping the tories win the last election

    hes already stated that his position on the EU has been misrepresented?!?

    and the torygraph switch from its farage love-in back to its roots a few months b4 the election

    its a dilema for the right wing press, theyve put a lot of effort into generating hate and fear of immigrants, echr and making money out of xenophobia etc but their traditional pro-business supporters would recognise the importance of cheap labour

    binners
    Full Member

    You are only supposed to oppose things you don’t agree with. The Labour party are EU Yes and the government’s position favours that stance.

    The front bench, maybe. But there are plenty in the labour party who are very anti-EU. In fact… they’re almost as divided as the Tories on the subject. But, unlike the Tories, they’ve always had a sense of perspective about it, and don’t tear themselves to pieces in public. They do that over other stuff.

    As far as Dave is concerned, he wants to stay in Europe. Dave does his masters bidding. Those who pay his wages. The corporate boardrooms who just financed his election campaign will all have said…

    “Right! You’ve had your fun! You’ve postured to out-UKIP UKIP and it worked. You’ve got your majority, now stop ****ing about with all this rabid right wing, anti-EU rhetoric now, keep those nutters on your back benches in line, and use the full authority of government to campaign for a vote to stay in. And don’t get any ideas about renegotiating immigration quotas or any of that nonsense, because we need to keep our supply of cheap labour, to keep wage costs down

    Off you pop….”

    Northwind
    Full Member

    I like epicyclo’s link, it starts out seeming really pretty reasonable and points out some genuinely iffy looking stuff, and draws you in, then suddenly BAM! IT WAS MI5! I was just waiting for the illuminati to arrive.

    Also hate the idea that the opposition should oppose everything just because they’re the opposition. Here, there were arguments for and against but they should decide in every case what they actually want, which should mean what they think is better for the country, not whether or not they can beat the government. But not too convinced about mass abstention. Maybe influenced by Cameron being a total **** about them voting for the referendum.

    ninfan
    Free Member

    I think the abstention was a fairly clever political move actually – thry got the outcome they wanted without exposing the party to either criticism for opportunism, or a newspaper headline saying ‘Labour party tears itself apart over EU referendum’ (even though, as Binners says, they really are) though it seems to be becoming a bit of a habit…

    bencooper
    Free Member

    I think the abstention was a fairly clever political move actually – thry got the outcome they wanted without exposing the party to either criticism for opportunism,

    So the next 5 years will be Labour abstaining on everything, just in case they offend someone 😉

    epicyclo
    Full Member

    Northwind – Member
    I like epicyclo’s link, it starts out seeming really pretty reasonable and points out some genuinely iffy looking stuff, and draws you in, then suddenly BAM! IT WAS MI5! I was just waiting for the illuminati to arrive…

    I have the same misgivings.

    However the % turnouts do seem suspicious and atypical.

    If you were heading the govt, who could you trust to keep their mouths shut if you wanted a few wee adjustments made to the vote?

    But I don’t want to rehash the Scottish referendum, we may not think it was exactly cricket but we lost.

    What I am concerned about is the possibility of fiddles in the EU referendum because if they occur, we are facing some serious attacks on our limited version of democracy in the UK.

Viewing 22 posts - 1 through 22 (of 22 total)

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