tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373780254831438828.post4986604974240142039..comments2023-04-29T02:26:08.411-07:00Comments on The Harrogate Agenda: Party politics destroys good governance.Pete Northhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04172420184509249126noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373780254831438828.post-38507650420744855662020-10-07T05:58:47.994-07:002020-10-07T05:58:47.994-07:00Yes indeed only time will tell.Yes indeed only time will tell.Niall Warryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13815435878278635965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373780254831438828.post-23475299640595923582020-10-06T03:42:45.465-07:002020-10-06T03:42:45.465-07:00I am a bit confused. "It is incumbent upon us...I am a bit confused. "It is incumbent upon us to be informed" and "why should we know that?" Which is it? I read the Norths and not much else political. I have come to the conclusion that on Covid-19 one knows less after reading about it than before. As Melanie Phillips asks, why are people in their thousands turning out to hear David Icke? It is not much of an ad for democracy. jsampson1945https://www.blogger.com/profile/02537831830793237262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373780254831438828.post-84348724823963476832020-10-03T08:44:01.474-07:002020-10-03T08:44:01.474-07:00Sadly, that crisis does seem inevitable and possib...Sadly, that crisis does seem inevitable and possibly as soon as you say. Whether that will lead to reform or something far worse, only time will tell.Alfredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01694719785236153072noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373780254831438828.post-57358416103862387742020-10-03T08:39:31.982-07:002020-10-03T08:39:31.982-07:00I love the idea, but it is incumbent upon us to be...I love the idea, but it is incumbent upon us to be informed. How we were supposed to know about Ursula von der Leyen beats me. Did we vote her in? Were we part of the process? OK, she was a long serving member of Angela Merkel's cabinet, but why should we know that? This is the opposite of Democracy when <b>unaccountable</b> people decide amongst themselves which <b>unaccountable</b> person shall lead the <b>unaccountable</b> law makers of the EU's supra-national government. <br /><br />I feel that we learn, over time, which sources of information are trustworthy, and which are not. Pete North has been quite consistent in his posts, over the years, and clearly has expertise in his own field.Alfredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01694719785236153072noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373780254831438828.post-6040995659995625402020-10-03T03:45:43.609-07:002020-10-03T03:45:43.609-07:00Comments on Pete North's article about who Ur...Comments on Pete North's article about who Ursula Von Der Leyen is illustrates a problem with democracy. Voters are expected to know who she is, and all the other EU politicians too. Unlike law, medicine, science, and many other subjects, in politics we must be our own experts. But in politics more than these other subjects we cannot trust our sources of information, and also we lead lives. When we vote we should demand the presence of the equivalent of a solicitor.jsampson1945https://www.blogger.com/profile/02537831830793237262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373780254831438828.post-13450124484394647872020-10-02T14:10:58.857-07:002020-10-02T14:10:58.857-07:00I don't disagree with you but the plan is very...I don't disagree with you but the plan is very simple the people just have to wake up to the fact without reform of our governance nothing will change - the hard part is waking the people up.<br /><br />However as you say a severe crisis does help activate people and that must surely be coming in the months ahead.Niall Warryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13815435878278635965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373780254831438828.post-85090112591230305362020-10-02T06:49:08.022-07:002020-10-02T06:49:08.022-07:00You might feel that Micklethwait and Wooldridge ar...You might feel that Micklethwait and Wooldridge are wrong when they say that their 13 points <b>"would improve our governance but it relies entirely on the current lot in Westminster administering the changes and quite frankly that isn't going to happen."</b> However, it has happened in the past when the government felt under threat of civil war.<br /><br />I know I sound like a stuck record, but just flying the THA balloon, without an implementation plan and strategy, is just that - balloon flying. <br /><br />The "people" wont look toward THA until a severe crisis happens, but then, a strong charismatic, but ambitious leader will step in to capitalise on the power vacuum. It's happened before, and it will happen again. <br /><br />I know you work hard to keep the idea alive, and good for you, but without such a strategy, it will remain just that, an idea.Alfredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01694719785236153072noreply@blogger.com