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"by politicians the people did not elect"? What? Did you ever hear about the European Elections? What kind of argument is this? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E
by antr 10y ago
"by politicians the people did not elect"? What? Did you ever hear about the European Elections? What kind of argument is this?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Parliament_election,_2014_(United_Kingdom) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Parliament_election,_...
- blibble 10y agothe party in power in the parliament and the commission is the EPP, the UK is the only member state that has zero MEPs in the EPP. so the statement is accurate
- toyg 10y agoThat's simply because UK Tories decided their euroskepticism prevented them from joining their natural allies in the EPP. It's like Northen Irish people voting Sinn Fein were complaining that they don't actually sit in Westminster.
- blibble 10y agoso what you're saying is that the Scots shouldn't be upset that the Tories have 100% of the power as the SNP haven't joined the Conservative party? the situation is identical
- toyg 10y agoYes, absolutely, it's the same situation. Your argument is now that Scotland should break away from the UK. Congratulations, you will see the United Kingdom disappear in your lifetime.
- dang 10y ago> Congratulations, you will see the United Kingdom disappear Please don't post flamewar-style comments here, especially in divisive threads.
- azernik 10y agoThey have the right to be upset. The losers in any political system have the right to be upset. But they lost fair and square in a democratic system, and do not have the right to slander that system and its institutions.
- antr 10y agoBottom line, UK citizens are represented in the European Parliament, and have a say in EU legislation. If there is a majority in a democratic parliament, well, so be it, democracy works this way... and if the Conservative party decided not to join the EPP, that's the party's decision. It's a logical fallacy to say that "the country's laws were decided by politicians the people did not elect.", when indeed they are elected by the people.
- azernik 10y agoActually, the commission is multi-party, split between mostly EPP (Christian Democrats and the like), PES (in which Labor is a member), and, yes, one British Conservative Commissioner. The UK has zero members in the EPP because the conservatives decided to go it alone; they still have votes, they've just decided to form their own parliamentary bloc, the AECR.
- toyg 10y agoUnfortunately, this is the argument that won the day. 25 years of tabloid brainwashing has irreparably damaged UK public opinion. Yes, there was a democratic deficit in the original EU structure. It was addressed in the 2009 treaty, and it keeps getting addressed with more and more decision-making powers slowly moving from Commission to Parliament. But it's too late, people think Bruxelles decides banana sizes and we can't have that. Unsurprisingly, who was among the first journalists starting the whole "crazy bruxelles" meme? One Boris Johnson.
- mcv 10y agoIronically, there is also a democratic deficit in the UK. The House of Lords is not elected at all, and the district system ensures that minority opinions do not get represented in the House of Commons. As a result, UKIP is far bigger in the Europarliament than in the House of Commons.
- estefan 10y agoThere are elections. But how many MEPs can you name off the top of your head? I can't name a single one... I think that's the perceived issue with EU law making.
- Xylakant 10y agoNigel Farage. Who will stay in his position as MEP until the next reelection. And he probably gets paid in EUR.
- cjrp 10y agoIt's not like the list is secret, if people choose to remain ignorant of who the MEPs are that's their own choice.
- sievebrain 10y agoPeople are ignorant of their MEP's because MEPs are irrelevant and can't campaign on policies.
- mcv 10y agoMEPs have less power than they should have, but it's also that media refuse to report on EU politics, and voters prefer their national news.