I'm sure that most people in Britain have been aware of the by-election that just took place in the Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency. This is my home constituency so the whole thing has been of interest to me (despite the fact that I forgot to register my vote in time...). The previous Labour candidate, Phil Woolas, is an idiot of the highest order and I'm glad to see the back of him. I remember a meeting that was held about the flooding that was occurring down the back of my row of houses and Mr. Woolas droned on, quoting all the usual empty promises to shut us residents up. However, when it came to questions being asked about solutions to the flooding, I distinctly remember my thirteen-year-old self coming up with better and perfectly logical answers compared to Mr. Woolas. The man knew nothing.
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| This man is an idiot. |
Despite all this, Oldham East and Saddleworth has long been a Labour seat, along with Oldham West and Royton and the majority of seats in the Greater Manchester area. I'd have thought that a Labour win for Debbie Abrahams was a foregone conclusion (despite the fact that Labour won by only 103 votes in the General Election this year), but from some of the comments I've read on articles, apparently not. The residents of Oldham East and Saddleworth are 'thick' for voting Labour back in and the fact that the BNP came fifth means we all must be racist.
Now hold on a moment. First of all, what exactly makes the voters thick? If I had managed to register my vote in time for this by-election, I know I would've struggled knowing what to do with it. Because the result was Labour this means we're fools because 'Labour were the ones who got the country into the mess it's in now'. However, if the outcome had been a Conservative victory we would've been called stupid because of all the 'horrible cuts the Tories have brought in'. Vote for the Lib Dems and we would've been told we're moronic because they've 'turned back on everything they promised; have you not seen the tution fees fiasco?'
Can we win? No. Whichever candidate we'd have picked we'd have been told we'd picked wrong. It's simply a game of trying to find the lesser of three evils. I personally feel the parties are all as bad as one another. I don't abstain from voting but I have the hardest time deciding who my vote should go to. British politics is becoming corrupt beyond recognition so trusting anyone with power is a daunting task. I can't help but think that if I had remembered to register in time, I probably would've voted for the Monster Raving Loony Party, the Pirate Party or the Bus Pass Elvis Party. Let's face it, they probably couldn't do a worse job than any of the main parties. They'd probably make more sense than the main parties too.
And to the people who seem to think that the whole constituency is racist because of the votes for the BNP? I will admit, 1560 votes for the BNP is 1560 more than I'd like to see but that's a small fraction of the people of Oldham. Yes, there are underlying racial tensions in Oldham but I know that many people feel sick to the stomach even thinking about the BNP, let alone voting for them. Do not tar the entire borough with the same brush. I'd like to think that my family, friends and I are enlightened enough not to harbour fascist ideals.
Methinks the thing that irritates me the most is that these comments have most likely been made by people who've never set foot in Oldham or anywhere remotely near. We're all backward and live in the dark ages up here, clearly.
Anyway, back to making my film.
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