So we face another general Election. \u00a0I have little enthusiasm. \u00a0It will demonstrate \u00a0much of what I\u00a0believe\u00a0we have got wrong in the UK at the moment.<\/p>\n
It will not be an exercise in inclusive participative democracy, but an exercise in strategy. \u00a0Hustings and town hall meetings will pale into insignificance against the media stir created by the political elite and their special advisers (not much democracy in appointing them) racing around the country in their battle buses. \u00a0 Millions will be spent on the ‘Yahboo!’ politics of billboard posters, party political broadcasts and ‘leaders’ debates’.<\/p>\n
And the only people really rubbing their hands with glee (apart from the ad men, professional advisers, pollsters and battle bus drivers) are the SNP and Plaid Cymru\u00a0because\u00a0of the possibility that a hung parliament will enable them to extract all sorts of concessions that otherwise the democratic process would deny them.<\/p>\n
Most of us will have ‘pointless votes’ as energy, horsetrading and guile will be focussed on the swing seats and the marginals. \u00a0Most of the ‘anointed’ on both sides\u00a0have already been installed in safe seats from which they can develop their political careers without ever having to really grubby their hands with constituency politics. \u00a0We may get a few more Portillo moments this time around – but really what difference does that make?<\/p>\n
And the voices of the majority of our politicians simply will not be heard in\u00a0this\u00a0process. \u00a0We may see them\u00a0kissing\u00a0babies in the shopping centres or get a 2 minute exchange on our doorstep with one of their lackeys, but in general their ideas will not be aired and debated and the\u00a0concept\u00a0of ‘local’, while highlighted in\u00a0manifestos\u00a0no doubt, will\u00a0fail to materialise on the ground.<\/p>\n
And we wonder why so many stay at home on polling \u00a0day…<\/p>\n
Meanwhile we allow\u00a0ourselves\u00a0a subconscious sigh of\u00a0relief\u00a0as these prospective leaders, and their\u00a0respective\u00a0machine\u00a0bureaucracies\u00a0of spin and presentation, promise to shoulder the\u00a0responsibility\u00a0for progress so that we don’t have to.<\/p>\n
Because the truth is for most of us that we just\u00a0want\u00a0to elect a government, national and\/or local\u00a0and then we want them to get on with it. \u00a0To sort everything out. \u00a0To put it all to rights. \u00a0To reduces our taxes and\u00a0improve\u00a0our services.<\/p>\n
We have to recognise that this approach, if it ever worked, has not worked for a while now. \u00a0We cannot afford to waste so much talent, commitment, energy and passion while we are bored to tears by the so very ‘on message’ and\u00a0carefully\u00a0crafted words of the anointed and stage-managed few.<\/p>\n
We have to find our voices, our passion, our energy and our motivation. \u00a0And then we might just be able to build communities in which we can be happier, and of which we can be proud. \u00a0That is where I will continue to put my energies. \u00a0Building society from the bottom up.<\/p>\n