Am I too old to get into Politics?
Discussion
OK, am 42 years of age, and think that Brown and his cronies are making a right royal mess of the country...
The Mrs tells me that rather than moaning about it, I should get into politics and do some constructive. I am not suggesting that I try to become PM or anything like that, but I do find politics interesting, my question is, at 42, with no A levels / Degrees etc in anything let alone politics, am I wasting my time?
The Mrs tells me that rather than moaning about it, I should get into politics and do some constructive. I am not suggesting that I try to become PM or anything like that, but I do find politics interesting, my question is, at 42, with no A levels / Degrees etc in anything let alone politics, am I wasting my time?
Unless you join one of the major parties you will achieve nothing. One Independent MP voting seldom has any real power.
If you join a major party then you have to follow the party line and behave as they do. Therefore you will have no real power. Unless you reach the front bench, but by then you will have become just like them.
If you stay as you are, you will have no real power.
Why do think that in a country with many talented and moral people, many that hate the way things are, nobody has ever managed to change it?
If you join a major party then you have to follow the party line and behave as they do. Therefore you will have no real power. Unless you reach the front bench, but by then you will have become just like them.
If you stay as you are, you will have no real power.
Why do think that in a country with many talented and moral people, many that hate the way things are, nobody has ever managed to change it?
Which is why party politics should be abandoned and we should have a revolution in favour of a senate-style system where we vote individuals (based on their statemented aims and ideas) into an arena and they're obliged to vote in accordance with what they've been elected on. Thereby actually achieving true democracy rather than the protectionist and change-fearing sham we've been lumbered with.
thatone1967 said:
OK, am 42 years of age, and think that Brown and his cronies are making a right royal mess of the country...
The Mrs tells me that rather than moaning about it, I should get into politics and do some constructive. I am not suggesting that I try to become PM or anything like that, but I do find politics interesting, my question is, at 42, with no A levels / Degrees etc in anything let alone politics, am I wasting my time?
Star with your local council.The Mrs tells me that rather than moaning about it, I should get into politics and do some constructive. I am not suggesting that I try to become PM or anything like that, but I do find politics interesting, my question is, at 42, with no A levels / Degrees etc in anything let alone politics, am I wasting my time?
anonymous said:
[redacted]
The easiest route into politics is very locally ie. parish and town councils, with County Councils next on the list. You are more likely to be taken seriously by the major parties as a candidate for national government if you have done something at local level first, or your current work/ track record has some relevance to politics.As regards national government, you could stand directly as an independent. Unless you are lucky enough to find a local issue that will make you popular (eg the doctor in Kidderminster) or you are already a celebrity of some kind (eg Martin Bell) you will almost certainly lose your deposit. Details of deposit thresholds, and what percentage of the vote you have to get to keep your deposit, are here
http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/note...
If you stand for one of the "other" parties (eg BNP, UKIP etc) you are likely to lose your deposit. You are even more likely not to get elected because, in these parties, they will know which seats they have more than a cat in hell's chance of getting anywehere near winning, so will already have lined up their party grandees as prospective parliamentary candidates in those seats.
The same applies to the major parties. A newcomer to the candidates lists is likely to be given a constituency that is likely to be won by one of the other parties.
So, after you've jumped all these hurdles, perhaps lost a deposit or two and certainly come second or third a few times, you may finally get offered a safe seat and get in to parliament. When you get there, you will have every journalist with an axe to grind investigating your past, putting the worst possible spin on what they have found, bullying you in interviews, getting accused of failing to answer questions on TV that the presenter knows you can't answer which is exactly the reason why he/ she asked it
You will also have to put up with the brain dead in your constituency (and others, if your political career gets off the ground) believing every lie about you and your party they read in the tabloids and will consider you to be the scum of the earth.
Etc etc.
If past performance is anything to go by, the government will at some time call for an independent enquiry into MPs pay. They won't like the answer that you deserve a pay rise so they wil tell you to load your expenses claim instead, then put on a very self-righteous show about cleaning up politics when the shyte hits the fan.
And currently you can have all that for the Kings Ransom of £64k per annum.
You can hardly wait to start, can you
Finally, a little story from my neck of the woods. Somebody I have known for 30 years, and has been involved in politics for all that time, was a naughty boy in the early 80s (whilst a local councillor) and was caught dealing heroin. He dutifully got sent on compulsory holiday at Her Majestys Pleasure, served his sentence, came out the other end, and went back into politics. Some 20 years later a still-wet-behind-the-ears local journo picked up the story and the whole thing hit the fan again.
Best of luck in your quest, or have you changed your mind by now
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Which is why most sensible folk dont want to go anywhere near politics, and we end up with the government we deserve. After all, you didnt want to hang around with the grotty little herberts who didnt drink, smoke or have fun at University, so why on earth would they have changed?#I'd be more than happy to be an MP, as I'm finding myself frustrated by the level of ineptitude at all levels, but I'm no angel in terms of past life, and I prefer sleeping dogs to rabid ones.
rs1952 said:
And currently you can have all that for the Kings Ransom of £64k per annum.
You can hardly wait to start, can you
Where do i sign ?You can hardly wait to start, can you
pay £500 get given £64k .. and all you have to do... is ignore everyone that put you there in the first place!!!
PERFECT! .. no seriously.. i'd love it. ill actually be able to get a decent car for once!
SystemParanoia said:
rs1952 said:
And currently you can have all that for the Kings Ransom of £64k per annum.
You can hardly wait to start, can you
Where do i sign ?You can hardly wait to start, can you
pay £500 get given £64k .. and all you have to do... is ignore everyone that put you there in the first place!!!
PERFECT! .. no seriously.. i'd love it. ill actually be able to get a decent car for once!
rs1952 said:
SystemParanoia said:
rs1952 said:
And currently you can have all that for the Kings Ransom of £64k per annum.
You can hardly wait to start, can you
Where do i sign ?You can hardly wait to start, can you
pay £500 get given £64k .. and all you have to do... is ignore everyone that put you there in the first place!!!
PERFECT! .. no seriously.. i'd love it. ill actually be able to get a decent car for once!
besides.. it wont be flash, it will be a competition specced tray backed Defender ( supporting british industry
)Edited by SystemParanoia on Tuesday 10th November 12:52
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