So, what about a proper referendum, like the one you promised?

So Parliament has decided to offer us a referendum........ though not the one most people seem to want on the EU, I doubt those in charge of their respective political parties will ever offer that though as they know they wont like the answer they'll get, which will be bye bye EU.

Politics.co.uk.

MPs have agreed to hold a referendum on reforming the electoral system.

Should Labour win the general election, a referendum will now be held on whether Britain should adopt the 'alternative vote' system on October 31st 2011.

MPs agreed the measure by 365 to 187, giving the government a majority of 178.

A more radical Lib Dem amendment, which would have seen the implementation of the single transferable vote system and the referendum brought forward to May 30th 2011, was defeated by 476 votes to 69.

The vote came late in the evening after a marathon debate which saw MP after MP stand to make their case.

Towards the end of the evening, George Galloway was reduced to telling the deputy Speaker: "I almost lost the will to live when we approached the 50th minute of the honourable member for Cambridge's [Lib Dem justice spokesman David Howarth] speech.

"I've sat here for six and a half hours shaking my head at the complacency on view from both sides."

The amendment is unlikely to reach the statute book given the shortage of parliamentary time available.

So they wasted a day debating something that probably wont become law but was designed to show up the Tories as non reformist, typical Gordon Brown thinking then as he doesn't see things as being good for the country (with the possible exception of Scotland) but either good for Labour or bad for the Tories.
That's why he's selling off English assets (Dover, Thames Crossing et al) and no-one else's and it's also why he did this to try and show that he's a reformer, despite the fact it wont matter and that when you look closely at the system he wants it would boost Labour votes as second choice and disadvantage everyone else.
Meanwhile a real bill for a referendum on the EU is being proposed by Douglas Carswell, I hope it manages to become law though the odds are stacked against it, both in Parliament with the current stranglehold the EUphiles have on the various party leaderships and outside with the EU not liking the idea of losing a net contributor.

I just wish our politicians would get over playing stupid point scoring games and actually run the country for the people who live here, rather than themselves and outside interests.

Or perhaps I just want the impossible.