Should we pass a test before getting the vote?

In the wake of the House of Lords throwing out the Government’s plans to scrap tax credits, the two weathermen pondered voting rights.

Weatherman 1: I see The Lords put the brakes on the Government’s wish to scrap tax credits. It is unelected, but seems wiser than the other House.

Weatherman 2: Some are saying the whole idea was a disgrace. And we voted these people in to office.

WM1: Maybe we should pass a competence test before being allowed to vote. Drivers have to have a license; maybe we need a voting license?

WM2: A suffrage proficiency test. Good idea. But what do we ask the electorate? What do we need to know? And we need to verify their answers. We can’t ask them are you gullible? because they will answer no, even if they are.  They could lie.

WM1: Children are gullible. They immerse themselves in fantasy and believe in Father Christmas – and then one day they see the light. It’s a disappointment when you find out Santa doesn’t exist.

WM2 :  It’s a disappointment when a party turns against its supporters – but more fool the voter.

WM1: Someone in Canada devised a test whereby different policies of parties are put in front of you and you have to decide which has priority. After 20 questions they have some idea of where your sympathies lie. It was A or B - it didn’t allow for exploration of the issues.

WM2 : We could start by asking keep or abolish tax credits? And when they answer keep, you ask a second question. Where do you find £4 billion for it? Higher corporate taxes, abolish the nuclear deterrent or employ fewer nurses?

WM1 : No one wants fewer nurses. No one wants to pay more tax, and many like the missile in their back pocket, just in case.

WM2 :  So it isn’t that simple should also be an option then.

WM1 : That will be the answer to many questions. Should we lose our steel industry? They say no and you then ask are you willing to pay more for things made from steel? ,they say no again, and it isn’t that simple re-emerges.

WM2 : As long as they can demonstrate they are capable of looking at the issues, then they have reasoning capacity and they can vote.

WM1 : Isn’t it important to know when you are being lied to?

WM2 : As long as Santa keeps bringing presents, I’ll keep believing. But in this case, the Government promises presents, and then stuffs them back in the sack or gives them to their mates instead.

WM1 : And in some cases, the present was never there in the first place. It’s more like a magician than Santa. What’s under this cloth? Is it a handout or a takeaway? Aha – it’s neither, it never existed.

WM2 : We are all dreamers and want to believe that Santa and magic exist; we vote for the party that has the most tricks up its sleeve.

WM1 : When a party offers us rabbits and silk handkerchiefs we should be suspicious. The Lib Dems promised a £250 bonus for every carer by 2020. Is that a rabbit?

WM2 : It might as well be – 2020 is so far off. The Tories promised 2750,000 new homes by 2020, many on brownfield sites, and promised to protect the green belt. That’s a vanishing trick. Suggest to developers that they should turn to inner city areas, and they will drive their bulldozers to the nearest meadow.

WM1 : So it’s all rabbits, what’s under the handkerchief and now you see it, now you don’t.

WM2 : The test is simple then. Do you believe in magic? If they say no they get the franchise and if they yes they don’t.

WM1 : Can you re-take it if you fail?

WM2 : I suspect there are those who would fail a second time, even if you asked the same question. That explains a lot.