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MAJOR ISSUES BULLETIN |
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British soldier’s in Iraq -lost vote due to MoD indifference and usual cock-up.
* Daily MailFriday, April 15, 2005 * My comrades risked their lives to bring democracy to Iraq- Now they are denied the vote in their own country. By Colonel Tim Collins * When brave men and women join this country’s Armed Services, it is in the certain knowledge that one day they may receive orders that will lead to them laying their lives down for their country. What
they do NOT expect is that by joining up, they will somehow forfeit the right
to vote for the Government that issues those orders. This,
however, is quite disgraceful situation in which up to 200,000 servicemen and
women could find themselves following what, at its worst, could be called the
mother of cock-ups by the Ministry of Defence. The
soldiers who brought democracy to Iraq, who have faithfully spread the message
about the ballot box always being stronger than the bullet or bomb, now face
the supreme irony of finding themselves without a vote in Britain’s own General
Election. It
is spectacular and shameful own goal which will lead the ordinary serving
soldier overseas not just disenfranchised but bloody angry. After
all, if anyone has a right to cast a vote on the rightness or wrongness of the
war in Iraq, it is surely the soldiers who were out there fighting it. And
they are still out there, of course, dodging the bullets and the suicide
bombers and generally ‘keeping the peace’.
This is
the thanks they get. Not
that you are likely to hear them complaining.
When soldiers join up, the ability to talk to the Press without
permission is just one of the many freedoms they willingly forgo. They
are subject to military law and are no longer free to do what they like but in
return they expect those freedoms they still enjoy-such as the right to vote-to
be fiercely protected by those above them, which in this case is the Labour
Government. That covenant has now been
shamefully broken. How
has this happened? Well, the best, or
rather sinister explanation is that it is a mistake by the ever more
incompetent MoD. This is after all the organisation,
which failed to inform me that I had been awarded the OBE until long after I
had been phoned by a relative who had heard it on the radio. So
I am far from surprised that the four years it has had to adapt to new rules
governing the registration of service voters has not been long enough. The rules mean that instead
of filling out a ‘one-off’ service voter registration when they first join up,
service personnel now have to re-register in their home constituency every
year. That
would be fine if you could get the right paperwork to them overseas, but the
MoD apparently could not. As a result, it is estimated
that 80 per cent of service personnel will not have a vote in this election. For many of the young soldiers serving in Iraq - most of
whom are under 25 - it will have been their first opportunity to vote in the
General Election, to express a democratic view on a decision to go to war that
has cost the lives of 80 of their comrades [with many thousands injured -
some severely]. What a terrible introduction
to democracy. Some military observers saw the problem coming and representations were made to Parliament urging the MoD to conduct a campaign amongst servicemen to urge them to vote. Eventually in January [2005], leaflets were printed for distribution to units but none of these was distributed until early March [2005]. The
deadline for voters to register for the May 5 poll - a date that has been in
the public domain for months - was March 11.
With some units not getting their leaflets until well after the deadline
has passed, the situation has been a disgrace. At the very least, it
demands an apology and a full explanation, both from the highest levels of the
MoD and Government. After
all, the British Army is a volunteer army, the social makeup of which reflects
the diverse nation it has drawn from more closely than any army in the
world. In
the British Army a teenager from a Glasgow council estate really can find
himself serving along side of a duke and as a nation we would be rightly proud
of it. But we cannot expect to
maintain all the good things that come with having a volunteer army -higher
morale, better discipline, stronger motivation etc - if by joining up, the
prospective soldier sailor or airman knows he is in danger of forfeiting one of
the most basic rights
of citizenship -the right to
vote. It is an appalling situation, which I am absolutely certain, would never have been allowed to happen in the United States Army. There their leaders don’t Just
preach democracy they make sure their soldiers can practice it too. Shambles,
cock-up -call it what you will. But I know there are many within the Armed Forces
who see the disenfranchisement of so many service personnel as more sinister
than that. They see deliberate
conspiracy and, frankly who can blame them. Because
this sudden loss of service voting power doesn’t just coincide with a hugely
controversial war. It also coincides
with the biggest shake-up of the Army for well over a century. Under the proposed changes announced last
year by General Sir Mike Jackson the Army won’t just lose three much needed
battalions but it will also lose its traditional regiments [To fit the
European Army pattern - of course] effectively ending a proven and
successful unit of military organisation that in some cases goes back more than
300 years. Not
surprisingly, Army personnel, who tend to have fierce loyalty to their
regiment, have strong views on the subject and the 2005 General Election would
have been their first and only chance to vote on changes that will have a
profound impact on their working lives.
The fact that they won’t now get a chance is as undemocratic as it is
unforgivable. [And all the Government
does is apologise most sincerely -but at the same time chuckling to themselves
of how easy it was to fool the people on so many occasions-and still get away
with it. Well! Many voters would not
take the warnings to heart and are now paying the price.] Many
believe that there has been a deliberate dragging of Ministerial feet to
deprive service personnel of their vote and I for one cannot say they are
definitely wrong. What
I can say is that the loss of their vote is but the latest indignity to be
heaped on a British Army whose soldiers and officers have grown accustomed to
longer tours of duty, shorter intervals between tours and equipment that is
either obsolete or doesn’t work. Well! Enough is enough Last
year when I was in the city of Al Quernah, said by some to be the location of
the Garden of Eden, I never imagined, as I extolled the virtues of democracy to
local Iraqi leaders, that they would be voting in 2005 but that many officers
and soldiers of my regiment would not. Having
left the Army last summer after more than 22 years of service I, however do
have a vote and intend to use it. Together
with many others who hold the future of Britain’s Armed Forces dear, we must
send the clearest message to Tony Blair on May 5. As
Alan Sugar so succinctly puts it in his television series, The Apprentice: ‘Tony, you’re fired. * * * [Font
altered-bolding &underlining used -comments in brackets] APRIL/05 STILL
TIME TO RIGHT A WRONG [Might
we suggest that anyone who had decided previously not to vote at the May 5
General Election -now do so for the disenfranchised servicemen and women who do
not have a vote to make their TRUE feelings felt? Many ex-serviceman and others who had previously felt that they would not vote because all politicians are all the same can know see a very good reason to put their vote where it will hurt the Government - after all- they are to blame. As many will say
don’t get angry - get even! * * * APRIL/05
* * * 13th October,2007
So You Want Out Of The EU
THEN WHY NOT SIGN THE RENUNCIATION of EU CITIZENSHIP http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/OptoutDetails from petition creator With the signing of the Maastricht Treaty the people of Britain were given DUAL CITIZENSHIP -both EUROPEAN and BRITISH The extra tier of citizenship was thrust upon the people without their consent -and in many cases knowledge. The PEOPLE of GREAT BRITAIN should be allowed the option of opting out of the EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP if they so wish. The GOVERNMENT will then be able to provide those who have opted out with BRITISH DOCUMENTATION -only such as British (not EU) passports, driving licences and other national documents. EU laws will also NOT APPLY to those who HAVE OPTED OUT OF EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP * *
* [Latest Addition - June07] * * *
*
Daniel Hannan - Forming an OPPOSITION to the EU
* GORDON BROWN WANTS TRUST-BUT WHY WON'T HE TRUST YOU? * 67% want powers back from EU-ICM poll-June 21-2007-95% of British people want a REFERENDUM * FOR A REFERENDUM SIGN TODAY ON LINE * July 18-2007 ALSO JOIN THE 10 DOWNING STREET PROTEST Readers can add their support to the growing clamour for a REFERENDUM on the '"REFORM TREATY" by signing up to a 10 Downing Street 0n-line petition http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/EU-treaty-NON/
The Petition reads as follows: "We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to guarantee that the British people will be permitted a binding REFERENDUM on any and all attempts to resurrect the EU " CONSTITUTION" (and any or all of its content) regardless of nomenclature." Deadline for the PETITION is 31st January,2008 Eurofacts 27th July 2007. * 'The Spirit of England' by In London on St.George's Day -1953 *
VOTE -2007
WITH THE ONLY PARTY WITH A MANDATE TO SET YOU FREE
THE UK INDEPENDENCE PARTY THE QUESTION THAT THE VOTER MUST ANSWER
‘DO YOU WISH TO BE GOVERNED BY YOUR OWN PEOPLE, LAW AND CUSTOM OR BY THE CORRUPT ,EXPENSIVE UNACCOUNTABLE AND CORRUPT ALIEN BUSYBODY BRUSSELS’
-SIMPLE IS IT NOT?
TO RECLAIM YOUR DEMOCRACY DON'T VOTE FOR THE TRIPARTITE PARTIES IN WESTMINSTER BUT SMALL PARTIES THAT SPEAK THEIR MINDS WITHOUT SPIN AND LIES. *
ONLY WILL BRING DEMOCRACY BACK TO THE ENGLISH PEOPLE *
SCOTLAND -ITS PARLIAMENT -WALES-ITS ASSEMBLY-ENGLAND-STILL AWAITS ITS PARLIAMENT-WHY?
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* [All underlined words have a separate bulletin] ADDED NOV 1-2015
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