If I had the vote

If I had the vote

By: David Silver

David Silver pledges allegiance to the President of Europe and looks forward to the day he can express political beliefs at the ballot box on his wing



As a lifer, I've spent countless hours mulling over the things in life I used to take so readily for granted. One such thing was my right to vote. I was 29 when sentenced to life and, shamefully, had never once voted.
As regular readers of Inside Time are doubtless aware, there has been a great deal of controversy over prisoners' right to vote. There has even been talk of the forthcoming election being void if the matter is not resolved beforehand. This would seem to be all the more important now that the Lisbon Treaty has been ratified.

The Lisbon Treaty legally defines Europe as a union of 27 different European states. In short it puts the Union into European Union. Many people are no doubt very anxious about the Treaty. This anxiety is partially caused by the controversy surrounding it. Labour had made a legal promise to give the electorate a referendum on a European Constitution. It soon became clear however that public opinion (aka media hype) would never support a European Constitution. Alas, where there's a will there's a way – the European Constitution was effectively renamed the Lisbon Treaty with which Labour had no such obligations to its electorate.

If US President Barack Obama were to ask his aides the question Henry Kissinger once famously posed, ”Who do I phone when I want to call Europe?” they could now give him an answer; President Herman Van Rompuy is the new President of Europe. Of course the media are having a field day denigrating him but it appears he is the perfect man for the job. By all accounts he is committed to the European Union, so much so that he would like to see all national flags replaced with European ones. He also envisages that all Europeans could one day pay taxes directly to Brussels. One can't help feeling that this man considers himself European first then Belgian.

I have that, at least, in common with my new President: I choose to think of myself first as European then English. It's my new thing – I am part of a new generation of Europeans who transcend national identity! But on a more serious note, why are many people so adverse to Europe?
The fact is … we need Europe. The crazy politicians who denounce Europe are living in some weird parallel universe where there is no capitalism, democracy or globalisation. Make no mistake, the European Union is essential to the continued proliferation of all three. When was the last time you saw a respected economist denouncing Europe on BBC TV’s Newsnight? The economists understand our need for Europe. They understand the importance of the European Union on a level most politicians can't even begin to grasp.

The voice of dissent comes from the media hype; the electorate is whipped into frenzy by derisory articles about Europe. The media deliberately plays on the xenophobic tendencies of their readership to achieve their own ends. This is not conspiracy theory; it's empirical fact. Take for example the Sun's recent decision to urge its readers to vote Conservative. The Sun are notoriously anti-Europe and they figure Cameron isn't far behind them.

It's not just the Sun either; most of the tabloid press continues to perpetuate this anti-Europe fervour amongst their readership; you have to ask why? The media magnates who own and control these papers have become powerful beyond measure and they are not ready to relinquish that power anytime soon. As more and more powers are ceded to Europe, their influence and power is increasingly diminished. They will do anything they can to hold onto power and keep us out of Europe. The Government shouldn't be afraid of relinquishing power to Europe; they relinquished power to the media long ago.

This is why a vote for Cameron's Conservative Party is, in my opinion, a wasted vote. When David Cameron talks about preventing further transfer of powers to Europe he talks about preventing progress. Short of a full withdrawal from Europe, which is inconceivable, Cameron's promises are all empty. Like it or not, we are about to enter a new era of European history. I'd rather have a Prime Minister (perhaps one day to be renamed a State Senator) who shoots straight, tells it like it is and fully engages with Europe.

Nick Clegg is, in my view, the only politician who really has a chance of living up to that, but let's be realistic; the Lib Dems are never going to win an election. To waste a vote would be to give crafty Cameron an edge. If I had the vote I'd probably give it to Gordon Brown who, God love him, hasn't had the best of times as Prime Minister. It's not all his fault, he inherited a whole heap of trouble from Blair and you can't blame him for the near collapse of capitalism. I just wish he’d be a bit more honest about Europe.

Meanwhile, I pledge allegiance to the new President of Europe. May Herman Van Rompuy bring his vision of Europe to fruition and one day, may I be able to express my political beliefs at the ballot box on my wing!

* David Silver is a pseudonym for a prisoner currently resident at HMP Gartree