Should Gransnet be used as a political platform?

No guessing involved jingl- you told us yesterday quite clearly:

'Bored now.'

An advantage of being a vegetarian. It was in Viva! Life magazine.
I think it was nightowl who started the thread, so she'll be pleased, too.

I'd forgotten about that jen. Good to hear that it's been stopped.

This time last year there was a thread about Nepal and its religious slaughter festival.
Lots of people signed a petition to stop the slaughter of thousands of animals in a day. I am sure some on here said they had signed it.

The Gadhimai Temple Trust has said it would no longer do it, and has apologised for doing it in the past.
It was a political action which did a lot of good, and it was highlighted on here.
What's wrong with that?

soon, yes all parties can choose free votes or party line , MP's can choose to vote with or against their party line, there have been members of Tory, labour and Libs who have not adhered to party lines so labour no different

"Sorry if I'm boring you, jingls" (quoting Farnorth)

How did you guess?

night night Mwah!

I'm sure she can. And probably will.

Ana- Jingl does say later on that she is enraged by the post that she is asking our opinion about. That is a personal opinion. I think she can speak for herself though if I am mistaken.

Jingl asked a question in her OP. No personal opinion was given nor any criticised.

So it's a personal opinion which complains about someone stating a personal opinion ?

not mine either roseq- and as we have been out of the UK for over 5 years- we are not entilted to vote anyhow. Does not make me any less interested in what is happening in the UK, as children, GC, family and friends are still there, and we may well go back one day anyhow. But I do like the fact that politicians consult with the members of their parties and constituents- a really refreshing change.

I don't think jingl was suggesting that any guidelines had been broken.

Jeremy Corbyn is not my MP, granjura

And my MP could be a 'she' and equally undecided about whether or not to vote yes or no.

Could we please have a comment from HQ about whether any guidelines have been broken; if they haven't then this is surely just a personal view.

So what if GN posts are visible to a wider public? It was obvious in the thread being talked about that JessM was stating her own view. The wider public wouldn't conclude that all of GN holds that opinion and they (the wider public) are perfectly able to decide for themselves whether they agree with her and whether they want to contact their MP.
Sorry if I'm boring you, jingls but you haven't made the reason(s) for your objection at all clear, imo.

Well you could tell him just that- that you can see both sides, etc.

I am sure he does not have the time to read all replies- he has sent e-mails before asking what questions members want to be asked at Question Time- so I suppose he has staff who go through the e-mails and select those that stand out for him to read and extract basic stats.

Here win Switzerland, we have direct democracy, and 'we the people' are asked to vote again and again on major issues, at local, County and National level. It is a huge responsibility as you have to read up about it a lot to make an informed decision. Sadly this has its problems too, as many don't bother to inform themselves, vote on gut instincts or prejudice, or are swayed by charismatic leaders, the press and other information pushed through their letterbox (in this case the UDC/SVP magazine, the Swiss National Front- full of falsehood and spite against foreigners, for instance).

But what if the answer is 'don't know'?

Perhaps not every Labour supporter is as sure as you obviously are, petallus.

Corbyn's email ends with the question 'should Parliament vote to authorise the bombing of Syria? Let me know your views, if you are able to, by the start of next week'.

I thought that was quite clear and didn't have any difficulty giving a yes or no answer.

Well, I have been waiting all day to read of a labour MP resigning, and good heavens, if it isn't Grant Schapps. Stolen the limelight again.

But there are repercussions aren't there? Though JC seemed to have got away with it.

I'm sorry, Soon, I really don't understand what you mean

soon, not having a free vote doesn't mean an MP cannot vote against party lines , but there has been be decision yet on a free vote

But there are repercussions aren't there? Though JC seemed to have got away with it. So perhaps in essence, there is always a free vote in the Labour party.

I can't get your earlier post out of my head - do you really automatically assume that MPs are more intelligent than the rest of us? I find that quite strange, even worrying!

I compare them to the average Joe. And yes I believe them to be well above that. The average Joe IQ is 100. 100 is not really that high.

Sorry - strike out the first 'members' from that last post!

soon, not having a free vote doesn't mean an MP cannot vote against party lines , but there has been be decision yet on a free vote