It is too late, in the film, to have the ballot sheets reprinted, so, thanks to an American voting law, the electorate is allowed to write on the sheet the party they want to vote for - NONE OF THE ABOVE.
At the conclusion of the election, even though Monty has resigned from the campaign, the electorate have responded with a massive majority for "None of the Above".
Would this work in the United Kingdom? Without a charismatic leader to take the peoples imaginations and spin them through myriad hoops, could the electorate get off their backsides and vote None of the Above?
The electorate in this country are disenchanted with the politicians that we have. One bunch is doing all they can for their mates in big business, so that when they retire from politics they will have a lucrative consultants fee; the other lot lining the pockets of their rich mates so that they will employ them in a consultancy position in their big businesses and pay them a large retainer. Which lot do we, the people want? None of the Above!
If the country, full of apathetic voters, like the mother of the Downs Syndrome child shown on the news in the run up to the Eastleigh by-election showed, people do not vote because they get cardboard cutouts of the last lot in if they vote for the other lot. As soon as candidates become MPs they seem to forget about their constituents and focus on their bank balance, squeezing expenses, getting paid their £1000 a week. What do we the grass-roots voters want - None of the Above!
We want no apathy, we want people to use their vote, to elect a government that can make this country "Great" again, we are fed up of living in Britain, we want it to be Great Britain again. We don't want these sycophantic university brats who have had little or no experience of life outside Public School and politics running our country, we want, nay need people who know what they are doing.
Do we want a history student in charge of the Exchequer? Do we want a soldier in charge of Benefits and Pensions? Do we want a TV presenter representing the disabled? Do we want a director of a house building company in charge of the Armed Forces? No, we want None of the Above.
Although the Registration of Political Parties (Prohibited Words and Expressions) (Amendment) Order 2005 stipulates that no political party can be registered in the UK under the name "None of the Above", there is no legislation against a person changing their name by deed poll and appearing on the ballot paper as "None Of the Above". This does, however, bring about problems of order on the ballot paper as "Above, None of the" would be at the top of the paper, not the bottom! If the candidate was to change their name to "Of The Above None" they would end up in the middle.
My thought, although there can be no political party named "None of the Above", does this exclude the option being given on the ballot? Does this preclude the option of voicing one's dissent to the political system?
I believe that a wake up call should be sent to the political parties of the United Kingdom that the time has come to stop thinking of themselves and start thinking of the well-being of the country and the people in it. As John F. Kennedy said "ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country".
I believe that a vote of no-confidence, not only in the Government, but also the political parties and their politicians is needed. At the next by-election for a Constituency Seat at Westminster, or, if it comes first, a General Election, the electorate should, in all decency, spoil their ballot papers with the words "None of the Above".
So, to vote None of the Above, do not stay sat in your house on election day, this just says you are apathetic and lazy, you do not want to take part in the election process. Get up, get out of your house, go to the polling station and vote - "None of the Above".
Then, to highlight the choice of people in your constituency, send a letter to the returning officer of your constituency asking how many spoiled papers were spoiled with "None of the Above". (This may be better being asked in advance of the day, so that they have a chance to set up the count for it.) Ask your local paper to enquire how many papers were spoiled in this manner and if the constituency had in fact elected "None of the Above".
If the movement to vote "None of the Above" were to become prominent enough, it might be that the returning officers would look for this statistic to be included in their returns. It might be that rather than using half-truths or manipulations of the truth, that Members of Parliament would again earn the right to be called "Honourable", an appellation that makes me laugh when I hear "The honourable member for Chingford and Woodford Green" mentioned.
So please, remember, when you are called to vote, get out of your house, go to the polling station and vote -
NONE OF THE ABOVE!
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