Semi Essessi

Personal details:

Name

Mr Semi Essessi

ID

34717

Email

semi4guildford@gmail.com

Party

Independent

Statement to voters

I am standing in this election because I believe that we lack a truly fair and free democracy, and that this underpins the problems we see today - dealing with Brexit, the crisis in the NHS, the housing crisis - all of it. I have never seen a representative candidate on a ballot paper, and after years of spoiling my vote I have decided that the only way to address this is to do it myself.

People have lost faith in politics, and quite rightly so, much of what parliament says and enacts does not speak to them or their concerns. Policies are promised up-front, sometimes long before they need to be enacted, meaning that they might not be suitable at the time. Policy direction as well as implementation is decided by political parties largely on the basis of ideology rather than rational thinking, leading to much of policy being out of step with the quite reasonable expectations of the electorate.

We also see the constant use of rhetoric in place of reasoned arguments. The Conservatives defend their poor record on austerity by quoting investment figures, without explaining if they meet demand or genuinely improve services. Labour seek to make the wealthy pay through corporation tax without acknowledging that there is no evidence in the HM Treasury reports that this kind of policy has ever succeeded. The Liberal Democrats demand a second EU referendum that will not address the democratic deficit in parliament, and is bound to be harmful for our economy.

Democracy is painfully misunderstood in parliament - the EU referendum result being used to claim that 'hard Brexit' has a mandate. Democracy should not be about representing the 52% majority, or a 35% who voted for a majority party, but a total and inclusive view, in this case the nearly half of people who voted remain should not be trampled over by 'tyranny of the majority'.

What I take from the EU referendum result is that the PM was not representative, nor were any of the mainstream parties (unless you include the SNP) representative of their electorate, the party leaders were not representative and a majority of MPs held views at odds with their constituents.

Even if you do not vote for me I will represent you. I believe that democracy should guide the direction of policy, but that it is up-to representatives and parliament to decide the implementation by thinking and leading rather than following any single ideology.

This statement was last updated on 3 June 2017 11:13.

Candidacies:

Contested the UK Parliamentary general election (8 June 2017)

Guildford Independent
Not elected (57 votes)
6th / 6 candidates

Links and social media:

Email

semi4guildford@gmail.com

Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/Semi4Guildford/

Facebook Personal

https://www.facebook.com/semi.essessi

Homepage

http://semi4guildford.co.uk/

Linkedin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/semi-essessi-b214211b/

Twitter

SemiEssessi

Demographics:

Gender

Male

Age

41 or 42 (Born: 1983)

Additional information:

Favourite biscuit

Custard Cream

Photo Credit:

This photo was uploaded by the user ‘J’ on 16 July 2024 17:36. Their justification for its use on the site was: this photo is the candidate's profile on social media, or is used to promote their candidacy on an official candidate or party website . They commented: “Rotated version of candidate-supplied image”.