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I fear that apathy is likely to be the big winner in the forthcoming election. I say this not having gone through my own detailed analysis of the voting intentions of the population, but from my own growing unease at the way the political debate in this country is proceeding.

I’m a political junkie. I put current affairs and politics down as interests, and not only because I enjoy it, but because I believe it’s the civic duty of every citizen to ensure that the politicians they elect are doing their job properly. Once my vote is cast, I feel I’ve not only stated my opinion as to who should represent me, but also - in a wider context - I have stated my intention to remain vigilant and involved.

But this morning, listening to Alan Milburn, and on Monday Jack Straw on Today, I was struck by the sheer single-mindedness of today’s politicians to get their message across and only their message across. There was no interest on the part of either politician to answer the questions. Granted, John Humphreys et al take deliberately provocative lines of questioning, but to hear - repeatedly - these senior politicians ignore the interviewer and repeat ad nausium, the party mantra, was nauseating in the extreme. Ok, you might ask where have I been if I didn’t realise that’s what politicans do? But I disagree, that’s not what politicians should do. They are supposed to be justifying to me, the voter, why I should cast my vote in their direction. But (so far) all the major politicans have manifestly refusing to do so.

Listening, time and time again, to this painful soap opera, I’m left frustrated by - perhaps surprisingly - the complete lack of any apparent political debate occurring. Channel 4 demonstrated this brilliantly on Monday evening, when they demonstrated that voters are unable to distinguish the policies of the three main political parties - from their “pledges” alone. If Joe Public can’t distinguish the difference between the supposedly Socialist Labour Party, centre-left Liberal Democrats, and centre-right/right Conservatives, what hope do we have?

It’s all further complicated by the horrifying fact that only a few hundred thousand voters in this country have the power to actually affect change. Most voters are stuck in a constituency that hosts a “safe” seat with only one real alternative. The first past the post voting system in effect here rewards parties with large numbers of such seats, and penalises parties without. Look at the “heartlands” of the Conservatives (generally rural areas) and Labour (generally urban areas). Only the Liberal Democrats don’t have an easily identifiable “heartland” beyond maybe the South-West and parts of Scotland, and surprise surprise they’re stuck in the opinion polls in a catch-22 situation with voters not believing they can form a Government, and so not actually voting for them.

The campaigns are also so ruthlessly efficient they leave me asking where the heart is? I actually welcome the sign of humanity that Charles Kennedy showed when he fluffed his Council Tax question: It’d be nice to see such things from the other senior politicians. If campaigns are micromanaged, down to the seating plans of journalists, asking the supporters stay quiet at the back, and spun so effectively for the cameras, us voters are left asking what the politicians themselves believe in, as we just see the varnish and not the woodwork.

So what can be done about it? I’d like to see:

Until there is some improvement along these lines, to in the end ENGAGE with the electorate rather than treat us like fools who can’t think through our own decision and remember (in most people’s case) both the previous Conservative and Labour governments. We’re perfectly capable of drawing our own conclusions about how they faired, but what we need is facts, honest debate, and proper power in our hands: All things that seem to be heavily missing in this campaign so far.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 27th, 2005 at 10:55 am and is filed under British General Election, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.