“Anything important is never left to the vote of the people. We only get to vote on some man; we never get to vote on what he is to do.” – Will Rogers
Abraham Lincoln’s definition of democracy – “Government of the people, by the people, for the people” – sounds rather quaint and nostalgic in the context of David Cameron’s outrageous manoeuvring over next week’s parliamentary vote on an EU referendum.
In what can only be described as a cynical ploy to stifle debate, the government has switched the date of the vote to Monday 24th October. It was originally scheduled for Thursday 27th October which would have allowed time for the People’s Pledge movement to mobilise supporters to lobby MPs.
Worse still, Conservative MPs are expected to face a three-line whip requiring them to follow the party line and vote against David Nuttall’s motion or resign their posts.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage has criticised the leaders of the three major parties: “By forcing their MPs to vote against an EU referendum, they have set them on a collision course with the electorate. It has become the people versus the politicians.”
Cameron has not only broken his “cast-iron” pre-election promise to allow a referendum on the EU, but it appears he intends to silence the debate altogether.
