Integrity and democracy

 


‘WHEN THE MEN ARE SILENT IT IS OUR DUTY TO RAISE OUR VOICES ON BEHALF OF OUR IDEALS’   Clara Zetkin

At the polling station

On Thursday May 5th of this year at 6.15am, Nancy (not her real name) arrived at a local community centre, punched in the key-safe code and prepared for a long day ahead. As presiding officer of a polling station she would stay there, together with a poll clerk, until well after 10pm. Local elections were taking place across much of the UK and there were similar scenes throughout the country.

Nancy and her colleague were required to wear neutral colours that would not signify any political allegiance. They were not able to use phones, except for emergencies or official communications, and they had brought refreshments to last the whole day. Fortunately, this community centre had the luxury of a small kitchen and a kettle, so it was an improvement on a previous venue – a freezing cold village church.

By 7am, information posters were in place, the security tags were on the ballot box, and the polling booths, tables, lists, ballot papers and pencils had been organised. During the day, voters arrived in a steady stream, pets were duly left outside, cordial relationships were maintained, and the police and the electoral inspector made their statutory visits. Nancy and her colleague were on duty throughout the long day and were not permitted to leave the building, even for a short break.

Procedures were followed meticulously and after the station closed at 10pm there was still much to be done. Checks were made to ensure that all numbers corresponded. The box of ballot papers was officially sealed and the packing up began. Unused ballot papers were secured, and forms and documents placed in a special envelope for safe keeping in the event of a query. The box and documents were then delivered to the official collection point.

Nancy and her colleague could now go home. They had worked for over sixteen hours.. As the responsible officer, Nancy would receive a fee of about £200 net, with an extra £5 payable for the delivery. The poll clerk would be paid less.

Meanwhile, in Westminster………

Around the same time, in the corridors of the Mother of Parliaments, and the home of democracy,  there was not quite the same iron grip on integrity and probity that could be seen in the polling stations of the UK. Not every elected representative was giving their job the same care and attention that Nancy was giving to hers. These MPs, of course, had been elected to Parliament through those same fair and proper electoral procedures. Constituents had cast their votes and placed their trust in their chosen candidate.

But all was not well. For some, this trust had been translated as a signal to misuse power.Party-gate still dominated the headlines and it had also recently been revealed that a significant number of MPs were under investigation for sexual harassment or inappropriate behaviour. A couple of weeks earlier, Angela Rayner had been castigated as a brazen hussy for having legs, an accusation taken up enthusiastically by some of the media. At the same time an MP had resigned after a sexual assault conviction and on the eve of the elections another MP stepped down after openly watching pornography on his phone in the House of Commons.  And later in May it emerged that another MP had been ‘asked’ (not told) not to enter Parliament while he was being investigated for serious sexual offences.

Finally… be inspired by Clara Zetkin (1857-1933)

Clara Zetkin was a German Marxist theorist and advocate for women’s rights who proposed the date for the first International Women’s Day in 1911.  She was fierce, brave and uncompromising. She gave long, and rather scary speeches at dangerous times and fought tirelessly on behalf of   oppressed women and men. Her message for women was clear then and remains so now:

‘When the men are silent it is our duty to raise our voices on behalf of our ideals.’


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