Last week Rye News included a piece from our MP about Ukraine. It drew comments, mainly from the “discontented” and those in opposition. One or two comments were supportive or offered balancing views.
Why is it that a communication about the plight of the Ukrainians and what our MP has learnt or been doing, becomes an excuse for negativity or drum beating?
The irony is that most Ukrainians would welcome a democracy like ours and have gone to great lengths since 2005 to try and build just that. They are suffering unbelievably as a result of the action by Putin, although, conversely, the main effect of this has been to unify the country.
Why do people find it necessary to condemn democratically elected politicians whenever they communicate? I found our MP's communication genuine and informative. Neither positive nor negative. I found a lot of the comments negative for the sake of being negative simply, in some cases, because the writer supported a different political party.
Whether the MP is a member of a political party that I support or not, is irrelevant. Actually, I don't support any political party. I do believe in democracy.
Brexit raised its head again. Whether we were in favour or against is now irrelevant. Democracy prevails and we must get on with it. It was a democratic decision by an educated electorate. There were false claims on both sides!
As far as personalities are concerned, there can be little doubt after the Brexit campaign, that people knew what Boris was like. He was subsequently elected with big majority. That's democracy!
The idea that opposition parties are "holding the government to account" is nonsense, particularly with the current opposition. It is the electorate who finally holds any government to account.
If elected politicians of whatever political hue could click their fingers and find instant solutions, they would. Doing things properly and legally takes time, irrespective of any political persuasion. It must sometimes feel like walking through treacle; frustrating for all of us but particularly for those in government trying to get things done.
At a local level, in Rye, Rother and East Sussex our elected representatives have to manage within tight budgets. They face conflicting demands and the need to be demonstrably accountable. They cannot click their fingers and find instant solutions.
So, the point of this "opinion" is to ask those posting comments to try to be positive, constructive and informative, and on topic!
Let us all try to understand that our local, regional and national government are trying to do their best with whatever resources they can muster. There isn't a magic wand.
Leave the party politics points scoring to a short period prior to an election!
