Question Time

Stuey1

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I have the opportunity to attend this weeks question time in Blackburn, my only problem is that I cannot think of a good topical question to ask and as per the name of the program to get into the audience you need a question to ask the panel

Anyone got any suggestions for good topical questions?
 
Why are NHS trusts reducing money going to the sharp end?
Shortage of staff in wards and A & E becoming critical
Although NHS may be ring fenced some units face substantial financial cuts
 
As background from Douglas Carswell's site:

The right of recall – as the name implies – gives local voters the power to "recall" their elected representative. It works in two simple stages:

Step One: a certain percentage of constituents (some say 10 percent, others 20) trigger a recall ballot by signing a petition demanding one.

Step Two: the ballot they demanded takes place, asking each local voter a simple question: "Should local MP, Joe Bloggs, be recalled? Yes / No". If over half vote "yes", Joe is out of office and an immediate by-election is held.

Far from leading to a flood of vexatious attempts to remove sitting MPs, this second stage makes it almost impossible to oust a sitting MP on partisan grounds. Note how few recall attempts have ever been successful in California.

Recall is so simple, even Cabinet Office officials can understand it. But for some reason they chose not to, and have come up with the following scheme instead:

Step One: a committee of Westminster grandees finds an MP guilty of wrong-doing, triggering the process. Joe Bloggs MP is not being "recalled" by local people, but sent away by other politicians. Note, indolence or saying one thing before polling day, and doing another after are not seen as grounds for dismissal.

Step Two: If one in ten voters then signs a petition confirming the grandees decision, the MP is out.

Far from strengthening democracy, under the government's proposal, at no point will majority opinion in an MPs constituency be sought – or even needed – before overturning the result of the previous election. That's the sort of scheme one might expect to find in a tin pot republic, not a genuine democracy.

QUESTION:

The government's recall proposal does precisely the opposite of what a real recall mechanism should do. It concentrates power into the hands of party whips in Westminster, rather than passing it out to the people.

What is it about making MPs more outwardly accountable to the voters, and less dependent on party whips, that the Westminster establishment fears?
 
I would agree with 961 - NHS staffing levels are at critical and in some cases below.
 
Now Ed Balls has abandoned universal benefits, just what does Labour stand for?

Are our slacker GPs now the 'enemy within', as Mrs Thatcher once described the NUM?

Why are we sleep-walking into supporting and arming Al-Queda in Syria?

Should the secretive Bilderberg Group be banned from meeting in Britain?

Even if they selected BoJo as leader, can the Tories win in 2015?

Do the initials ACRB mean anything to panellists?
 
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Why can't Question time (and the audience) be neutral.

I can't watch it whilst it panders so much to the left and makes out that any centre/right panelist is an axis of evil.

Having said that, better be something more on topic so the NHS is probably a better choice lol.

Why don't some of the hundreds of thousands of NHS workers earning six figures, take a pay cut to help maintain/improve staff levels at the lower/sharper (etc etc) end.
 
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"when the heck is this godawful government going to resign?" would be my question
 
Given the recent scandals, is it time to finally abolish the Lords and replace it with a fully elected upper house?
 
Why does there always seem to be a UKIP person on the panel when UKIP doesn't have a single elected MP in the house?
 
Why does there always seem to be a UKIP person on the panel when UKIP doesn't have a single elected MP in the house?

Presumably because they are polling much higher in recent local elections than in one national election 3 years ago?!
:facepalm:
 
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Why does there always have to be someone from the same small set of boring self-opiniated speakers?
Why is Dimbleby kept on when he is obviously incompetent, interrupting and asking his own questions, all the time?
 
ok, thanks for everybody's suggestions.

not sure which one i will send yet but this thread can be closed now :thumbsup:
 
ok, thanks for everybody's suggestions.

not sure which one i will send yet but this thread can be closed now :thumbsup:

For what it's worth I think Karkus has provided a very well thought out (and topical) question!
:)
 
For what it's worth I think Karkus has provided a very well thought out (and topical) question!
:)

I agree, however I don't really understand the subject and it has to be less than 30 words! :(
 
I agree, however I don't really understand the subject and it has to be less than 30 words! :(

You never told us that!
 
You never told us that!

I wasn't aware when I asked the question - only since then have I had the email...

To be fair his question is less than 30 words - but as I know very little about the subject it would make it difficult for me to ask the question!
 
"Why are NHS trusts reducing money going to A&E and staffing levels when their funding is ring fenced? Shortage of front line staff is becoming critical" (26)
 
"Why are NHS trusts reducing money going to A&E and staffing levels when their funding is ring fenced? Shortage of front line staff is becoming critical" (26)

Thanks for that one, I actually think I will use that
 
It's a very good question :thumbsup:
 
As background from Douglas Carswell's site:

The right of recall – as the name implies – gives local voters the power to "recall" their elected representative. It works in two simple stages:

Step One: a certain percentage of constituents (some say 10 percent, others 20) trigger a recall ballot by signing a petition demanding one.

Step Two: the ballot they demanded takes place, asking each local voter a simple question: "Should local MP, Joe Bloggs, be recalled? Yes / No". If over half vote "yes", Joe is out of office and an immediate by-election is held.

Far from leading to a flood of vexatious attempts to remove sitting MPs, this second stage makes it almost impossible to oust a sitting MP on partisan grounds. Note how few recall attempts have ever been successful in California.

Recall is so simple, even Cabinet Office officials can understand it. But for some reason they chose not to, and have come up with the following scheme instead:

Step One: a committee of Westminster grandees finds an MP guilty of wrong-doing, triggering the process. Joe Bloggs MP is not being "recalled" by local people, but sent away by other politicians. Note, indolence or saying one thing before polling day, and doing another after are not seen as grounds for dismissal.

Step Two: If one in ten voters then signs a petition confirming the grandees decision, the MP is out.

Far from strengthening democracy, under the government's proposal, at no point will majority opinion in an MPs constituency be sought – or even needed – before overturning the result of the previous election. That's the sort of scheme one might expect to find in a tin pot republic, not a genuine democracy.

QUESTION:

The government's recall proposal does precisely the opposite of what a real recall mechanism should do. It concentrates power into the hands of party whips in Westminster, rather than passing it out to the people.

What is it about making MPs more outwardly accountable to the voters, and less dependent on party whips, that the Westminster establishment fears?

We're breaking new ground with a proposal for recall voting
 
It looks as though "recall voting" is becoming a hot topic all of a sudden. Can anyone give me the real scoop why recall voting is suddenly popular amongst those who are farther right than mainstream tories? What's the thinking here? Or is it just an attempt to whittle away at the first past the post system, to increase UKIP/far right representation? Or are they just after anything which is not PR? Obviously, it appeals to those who depend on knee jerk popularism. But is there anything else behind it? I'm not really sure what the hidden agenda is here. Anyone?

(ps. this question is directed at those who are not UKIP supporters)
 
 
Thou doth protest too much, methinks. Nobody has mentioned racism of any sort, other than you, in this thread. What a silly post.
 
Thou doth protest too much, methinks. Nobody has mentioned racism of any sort, other than you, in this thread. What a silly post.

What is it about UKIP that you believes makes them 'farther right than the mainstream Tories'?

(Because only someone deliberately trying to provoke a reaction could label a controlled immigration policy as a) racist or b) particularly right wing).
:nono:
 
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