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UK Against Fluoridation

Monday, October 26, 2009

Uk - Daily Echo - Decline of our democracy

Decline of our democracy
By Chris Barker
THE decline of democracy needs to be stopped.
Have you noticed how the UK is slipping into becoming an ever more authoritarian state instead of the democracy that our forefathers fought and died to protect? ,
Even today our young men and women are in far off places fighting to protect democracy. However, here at home, more and more decisions are being made, by both elected and unelected officials, who are abusing that position by doing what they want, irrespective of the views of local people.
So-called "consultations" turn out to be nothing more than sham exercises to fool the people into I thinking that their views carry some weight. However, the outcome has usually been decided long before the "consultation" takes place, thus proving the "consultation" to be nothing more than a cosmetic exercise. Southampton recently had a "consultation" about fluoridation. Over 72 per cent of the respondents said they did not want fluoride added to their water supply.
In defiance of the result, the unelected area health authority members decided to add fluoride anyway, against the wishes of the majority. These same people are now preparing to waste vast sums of our (taxpayers) money on defending that decision in court. What a shame that money does not come directly out of their wages, they might think twice about wasting it then.
We can only hope the court decides that it is against the public interest to allow this undemocratic decision to stand.
These people have said that this 72 per cent was unrepresentative of the total population of the area. Using that same argument you could say that no MP has really been elected, because you could argue the same about the results of a genera! election, where the number of people who actually vote is always less than 100 per cent of the population.
In our area both Itchen and Test MPs (both of whom support fluoridation) were actually elected by less than 30 per cent of the total population eligible to vote, and they were both happy to accept this result as being valid.
There is a petition on the number 10 Downing Street website at peti-tions.number10.gov.uk/Democracy Hants which is aimed at making the majority result of public consultations the overriding factor in any subsequent decision. It is aimed at taking the power to overrule the people away from elected and unelected officials.
Please read the petition and sign up to it if you wish to stop the decline in our democracy and send a message to all those in positions of power that they are there to serve us, the people, and our interests, not themselves or their own ambitions. i
This is not about fluoride or any other single issue. I have merely used the fluoride "consultation" as one example of the blatant disregard these officials now have for your democratic rights.
The petition is about basic democracy in this country, not only being done but being seen to be done.

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