However this left me thinking. Its all well and good that Scotland has toiled for decades to get to a position where it is free to decide its fate, but what about places like Wales, or indeed Cornwall.

Now I have no idea of the figures, but I do know there are (what I guess would be a minority, but I accept I may be wrong here) people who want Cornish independence. I believe that if there are enough of them, they should get a vote, a chance for every person in Cornwall to have a say on their future.

Now I’m not from Cornwall, I have been on holiday, it rained a lot but then this is Britain. However, I think the principles that apply in Scotland apply in Cornwall.

This is one of the reasons I chose to join UKIP, because on important local issues, such as how regions or countries within a union are governed, UKIP promises that if 5% of local or national voters sign a petition, a binding referendum will be called.

There is a lack of participation in our democracy at the moment, because there is not enough ability to participate, politicians in London and Brussells are too busy telling us what to do rather than find out how we want to live our lives

People should decide their own futures, and how they should be governed, a vote for UKIP is a vote for real Democracy

Now to some that last sentence might seem strange. Majority? You may be asking, surely the Majority were the mix of violent and angry protestors last week in London? This is certainly not the case, a Guardian/ICM Poll shows that 57% of people support cuts in Government spending, cuts I hasten to add, that are only a 3% cut in public spending and  that will take us back to spending levels akin to those of 2008, a year I don’t remember for being full of hardships, devastating unemployment and the break down in society the anti cuts brigade seem to think returning to these levels will cause.

I however, am not rallying because I am purely in favour of cuts, I am rallying because I am opposed to the huge debt our country has incurred. Now some seem to think this is not a problem, and whilst they have been disproved here and here, I wanted to add my voice to those who are calling for Government debt to be reduced, not just added to ever so slightly less than before. You  might ask what my problem is with debt, well, despite the fact it seems a bit suspect for a Government to chastise the people and the banks for spending beyond their means and then do it themselves, another problem with debt is that it has to be paid back. Not only that, but your creditors usually charge for you having their money. What I’m talking about is interest, and while interest payments on a mortgage might stagger some people, when we look at the size of Government debt (low estimates putting it at around £900,000,000,000 while some who take into account things like public sector pensions liabilities claim it is at £8,000,000,000,000 ) , we can see that Interest payments equal over 11% of Government tax income (statistics taken from The Guardian)

The True cost of Public Sector Debt

Maybe some people are happy to spend over £60 Billion a year purely on interest, I for one am not. If UKUncut will offer us an alternative that doesn’t involve crushing taxes on those who provide the jobs in our society and well, foot most of our tax bill already, then maybe it could include freeing up that £60 billion to be spent on things other than interest payments. Just a thought.

Damn that hard working 1% who pay a quater of the tax.

These levels of Debt are unsustainable, and at some point the markets are going to start getting nervous at our ability to pay them back, after all the World Economy is hardly at peak performance, and if/when that happens then all hell will break loose. Furthermore, this is not just a debt we will have to deal with, but one that we are leaving to the next Generation, punishing the future for our mistakes in not a legacy I want to leave behind.

Unlike the current opposition party, and the defecit denying mob, I am going to offer an alternative. It’s not an alternative everyone will agree with, it’s not an alternative everyone who will Rally Against Debt will agree with, RAD being a broad church of those showing their support of current cuts, those who want more action and those who want a lot more action, but it is my alternative, and I quite like it.

Firstly, I would stop our huge contributions to the European Union, which some reckon cost us £118 Billion a year and whom we certainly are giving £48 Million a day to. A Union that voted to increase its own budget and thus our contribution to it at a time of cuts at home.

Secondly, I would scrap the 2008 Climate Change Act which costs us £18 Billion a year because frankly, paying for Windfarms that cost more than they make in energy is just absurd.

Thirdly, I’d make actual cuts in Council Fat cats pay, who receive more tax payer funded wages than the Prime Minister. I would also be cutting hosts of non jobs and bureaucratic management from Community Space Challenger Coordinators to Totem Pole Artists to Play Strategy Managers

Fourthly, I would make working pay, raise the personal allowance so less lower paid members of society have to pay tax and cut Income tax down to a flat rate around 31% meaning everyone would be paying less and thus encouraging more people to work and to earn more thus raising total tax revenues.

Fifthly, I would make the UK a place where small buissness could grow, I would tear down regulation that really just acts as a Barrier to Entry and benefits Big Buisness solely. I would lower tax on Buisness so not only could more smaller business thrive, and offer employment for many in the wealth creating Private Sector, but also stop the Exodus of bigger business such as ¼ of all hedge funds leaving London, costing around £500 Million a year in lost tax revenues

Sixthly, I would only spend within my means, I wouldn’t rack up huge debts, and I would make sure that Government spent only what it takes in via tax. While it has made a start, the current Government will still see public spending rise and the debt just getting bigger right throughout its whole term. As the public sector now makes up 53% of the economy, meaning only 47% is the wealth creating private sector, I think this is a problem that really needs to be tackled.

I’m sure there are other proposals that could be of benefit, this isn’t an exhaustive list, nor is it representitve of anyone who will Rally Agaisnt Debt except me. Thank you for reading.

Well I’ll tell him why I firmly support Referendums and why if anything they strengthen our Democracy, a Democracy that is about representation, not ruling. The people we elect are there to represent our views, and according to the EU referendum campaign 3 out of every 4 people want a referendum on our Membership of the EU. As I’m sure everyone is aware no one over the age of 54 has had a say in our continued Membership of the European Union, about 75% of our Laws come from Brussels and we are paying £48 Million a day to the EU.

But the idea of Referenda is not just about Europe, the idea of having Referenda, initiated by the people, with the results binding the Government, is so that truly we would live in a country were the people can be heard. Far from undermining Democracy, Referenda strengthen it. No longer could our Political leaders ignore what the people had to say, truly Britain would become a country run by the people, for the people.

I find it awful to dismiss the British Public the way Lord Lea does, intimating that they are stupid, know nothing about it and should keep their noses out of this type of thing. Does he forget, that he is meant to be there to serve the people? That Democracy is about the people, not the political elites, having a say on what happens? After all these are the very same people who work hard to keep this country running, who have to live with all the judgements passed down on them (from London and from Brussels) and have to pay taxes which pay his salary. Why should they not have a say in how their lives and how their country is run? We cannot write of the people of Britain, if Lord Lea truly views the public as so moronic why is he content in letting them vote at elections, surely he thinks they are too dense to know the issues, something he hints at when he argued against referendums. In my opinion either you have faith in the public to know what is best for them, which party should be in power, whether they’re happy the EU costs them nearly £2000 each a year etc or you don’t, in which case Lord Lea should be advocating stopping elections to prevent the destruction of Britain from these dim-witted hordes. Indeed in countries such as Switzerland Direct Democracy has been a big success, and far from the masses voting for absurd things, in fact Referenda have been a successful check on the power of the Government, blocking unpopular laws that are unwanted and would otherwise be imposed on the people.

Lord Lea: Effectively Argues that the British People are not intelligent enough to have a say

Personally, I do not hold such contempt for the British Public as Lord Lea, I think that the people should be able to take part in what goes on in their Country, indeed with the main political parties of the day becoming more and more homogenous what better way for the people to truly have choice, and to be empowered than to let them vote, specifically on issues that they deem important to themselves by 5% of the electorate signing a petition to trigger a referendum. While currently people are denied a vote on issues that are important to them, as Party manifestos either ignore them or talk in such a non specific way that really people struggle to know what their voting for, with Referenda people could have their say on matters that mean the most to them, both with National and Local referendums.

While Lord Lea may have dim views on the public, and may not respect their right to choose how they are governed besides a vote every four to five years, I am fully confident that the people, not the politicians, know what they think is best for them and their society. Too often the people are ignored by a Government safe in the knowledge that they can do nothing about it. As Jefferson once said “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.” I put it to you, that the Government will only truly fear its people and act in their interests not in the interests of self serving politicians when the people of our Nation get to vote on the things that matter to them. Lets have a Direct Democracy, and lets no longer let lying and corrupt politicians enact policy that is not wanted by the vast majority of the population subjected to it. This is our Country, we should have our say in how it is run.