Is there actually a way of getting the government to do something (read on)...?

Question

Petitions don't work (how many Official epetitions on the PM's website have you seen that produced an outcome?) and writing to your MP gets you a pointless letter saying "I've read your message, but I'm too high and mighty to care about you common folk".

Any other ways to get the government to do what the public wants?

Answer 1

The helplessness you describe is engineered by the Government, a population that feels powerless is easy to manipulate. Thats why the Government makes so many foul ups, one immediately follows another, so there can be no focus on any one issue, like someone asking you questions and not giving you time to answer before the next one comes along.

The Government has no interest in you or the welfare of the nation.

Answer 2

Nope, thats just it.  Our government doesn't work!

Answer 3

No

Answer 4

I think it is time to follow the French example, take to the streets. Remember the poll tax demos.

Answer 5

Well that all depends on what you want them to notice. Consumer power is massive so if we all stopped buying certain products en masse they would sit up and take notice.

Answer 6

i have written to the government on so many occassions now i get quite fed up - nothing ever changes but i feel better having said my piece i always write to the P.M. of the time and c.c. to the other parties too - i ususally get the best response from the opposition but the best letter i rec'd was from the late John Smith (labour) - i am presently awaiting responses to my letter relating to the cost and lack of competition in fuel prices in rural britain - they are taking their time to reply!  one thing i will never do - and thats give up because one day my letter might just make a difference and always remember the government work for you, you pay their wages - keep up the good work!

Answer 7

vote them out of office and/or run against them

Answer 8

Politicians do not listen to the people.  They only use us for a vote to get them elected and once in power they do just exactly what they planned to do all along, which is to ignore the people and carry on with their plans to take away our liberty and turn us into tax paying slaves to finance their profligate lifestyles.

In my view any Political Party Manifesto which is published in real terms and/or on the Internet, should be classified in Common English Law as a contract - and that any politician who subsequently breaks that contract can be taken to the high court and charged with "Treason Against the People".

Punishment - barred from holding any public office for 1,000 years.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE.

Answer 9

Pressure groups with lots of money. That seems to be the only thing that people respond to nowadays.

xxFJ

Answer 10

For obvious reasons, governments of any colour and in any country cannot do EVERYTHING that every individual citizen wants.  This clearly means that a fair chunk of the time they will end up doing things that you (or I) don't like.  And sometimes, governments have to do things that are seriously unpopular with large sections of society. Take smoking in public places, for example.  There must have been, oh, I don't know, 5 million people in Britain who hated the ban - but that wasn't a good enough reason not to introduce it.

Whatever you may consider to be the evidence to the contrary, by and large, governments do tend to follow public opinion on most issues - for the simple reason that they want to get re-elected.

I suggest that if anyone who cares sufficiently strongly about an issue that they want the government to do something about it, should engage in the political process and stand for election.  If enough people share their views, they may be elected.

Answer 11

in the end they do what they want.

Answer 12

Direct action - large scale strikes and revolts....might want to blow some stuff up? that will get their attention.

Answer 13

No---our goverment is the best that money can buy---the people be damned---no matter the party in office it is controlled by the "money trust'

Answer 14

There is only two ways, take to the streets, or country wide strikes, we know that taking to the streets havn't worked, as in the march against Iraq war, 'which was the biggest turn out in British history', so we are left with all out strikes to bring the country to a halt, thing with this is, it has to be organised as we don't want emergency sirvices turned off, and this gives the government cause to invoke 'marshal law', which could develope into civil war, so we have to be careful how we go.