A FRIEND of mine admonished me for not voting in local elections saying, "Yeah Jake, if everyone did what you did we’d have no government at all." I looked quizzically at him as the penny dropped and he shuffled off.
I do occasionally vote. For instance, I voted in the Brexit referendum, for all the good that did me. Not that my political inactivity is down to apathy or laziness; I always make an effort to destroy my voting card in an interesting fashion. At our recent council election, I transformed it into a dog pooper scooper and for the EU election I filmed a mock public information film explaining that my not voting was due to a diagnosis of electile dysfunction.
The vitriol I face online over my refusal to vote is both banal and offensive in equal measure, with the more civilised accusing me of defaulting on my civic responsibility. This is usually followed by a history lesson including the Suffragettes, Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement here in Northern Ireland.
One misconception people jump to is I hate all politicians. Not true; I hate generalisations such as, ‘I hate all politicians’. I’ve no doubt there are very capable, honest and caring people working in politics, but they are the exception. In general, politics, whether regional, national or international, attracts the sort of individual who, if they sat beside you on the bus, you’d move seat.
As I write this column, the most powerful man in the world is the spoilt rich brat, Donald Trump, who’d face federal charges over obstruction to the Robert Mueller Russia investigation but for the fact he’s the president of the United States. And soon, the most powerful man in the UK may be another spoilt rich brat, Boris Johnson, himself facing a court case after an accusation of ‘misconduct in public office’ due to his Brexit referendum claim the EU was costing the UK £350 million per week.
During the EU election it was revealed that Nigel Farage was a kept man during his time out of the limelight, with Arron Banks ‘investing’ £450k in his upkeep. Not that this had any effect on his new Brexit party’s showing in the European election where it won nine of the UK’s 13 regions, taking 29 of the 73 seats in the European Parliament.
At the local level, we’ve remained in a political limbo for over two years after the assembly dissolved in scandal and recrimination. Seemingly content to allow the assembly to languish, the DUP turned its attention to being king-makers in Westminster, bolstering the catastrophic reign of Theresa May.
A much lauded pay-off of £1 billion in extra government spending for Northern Ireland was negated last week when a CBI analysis estimated that unless the assembly returns this year the cost to the local economy will be – you guessed it – £1bn.
Adding salt to the wound of a non-functioning assembly is the fact our 90 MLAs continue to draw a salary. In December 2017 a report by the former chief executive of the assembly, Trevor Reaney, recommended a pay cut for MLAs. This wasn’t acted on until November 2018 when Karen Bradley finally announced a two-stage reduction in their pay from £49,500 to £35,888 p/a.
While Karen Bradley dragged her feet for nearly a year in implementing the £13k pay cut for MLAs, she continues to callously refuse to carry out the recommendation of the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry of a payment to victims of abuse. (The figure recommended by the inquiry was £7,500; victims' representatives have called for a £10,000 base payment.) It seems there is one law for politicians and another for victims.
Public disaffection with politics in Northern Ireland is evident by an ever-decreasing number turning out to vote, only 45.14 per cent casting their ballot at last week’s EU election. Instead of castigating those repulsed by politics, maybe it’s time politicians addressed the reasons for such repulsion.
I don’t agree with those who’ve given up completely and are apathetic in the face of political incompetence, stupidity, graft and nepotism. We can all do something, no matter how small, to highlight deficiencies we see in our politics. Many of you who follow me on social media know I’ve been campaigning against local MLA pay by reminding people on a daily basis, ‘Today your MLA stole unearned salary…’.
I offer our MLAs an opportunity to rectify the public’s perception of politicians on the make – donate to a charity of your choice the overpayment of £13k identified in Trevor Reaney’s report. Give people a reason to vote.
