W(h)ither democracy?

It will be interesting to see what changes to the voting system, if any, we eventually get. Whatever transpires, that in itself won't be enough to reverse the cynicism and disengagement from politics that has increasingly come to characterise British (or perhaps I should say English, as there's a cultural issue here) social attitudes. It is fashionable to blame the expenses scandal for the current disenchantment with politicians, but that was a symptom, not a cause, of a malaise that has been steadily accruing over decades. As I've said before, I come from a politicised family, but the ethos of this election, with its almost total lack of posters in people's windows, dearth ofpublic meetings and stage-managed TV appearances is a far cry from the angry cut and thrust of live debate in town halls and meeting rooms up and down the land that I remember from my youth. This election was the first in which not a single canvasser knocked on our door the entire length of the campaign, despite there being everything to play for, the constituency being marginal enough to be deemed worthy of a visit by both David Cameron and
Gordon Brown. But even these visits, both happening with barely a soul within the city being aware of them and staged primarily for the national media rather than the local population, are a further indication of how bad things have got. It's not something a set of new faces is going to change.

A clue to what's needed lies in the fact that the constituencies that threw up the biggest surprises, and often the highest turnouts, were ones where one or more of the parties had fought a vigorous local campaign. Citizens on the streets in those constituencies would have known by the end of the campaign who their candidates were and what they stood for. All the political parties seem to have heeded this, but it is one thing to mouth platitudes on TV praising well-run campaigns, and another to unpick the increasingly centralised party apparatus so that the
footsoldiers who actually bring the results feel they are properly represented in its identity and policy direction.

There are some relatively simple civic innovations too that could be enacted straight away that would be likely to improve things at the next election, especially as from now on we all know when it will be. First, it should be mandatory for all parties fielding a candidate in a constituency to send out a leaflet at least a month before the election containing details of public meetings that their candidate will be attending, radio & TV appearances, even perhaps a skeleton itinerary for the coming weeks so people in different localities within the constituency would know where and when they had the best chance of some genuine interaction. How refreshing it would be to receive such genuinely useful information through one's door, rather than the standard fare full of half truths and mainly designed to slag off one's opponents. (The quality of election literature of course was featured briefly this time when Gordon Brown was accused of misrepresenting opponents in his own constituency, but it's such an ubiquitous phenomenon that maybe there needs to be some sort of watchdog or regulator to oversee the whole business of party propaganda.)

There's another opportunity for voter engagement missed when each household's polling cards arrive. As well as the minimal current information they carry of date, polling station, voter identity etc, why couldn't they have a list of the candidates, with their contact details, and information about where the count will be held, the approximate timing of the declaration, details of the returning officer, what to do in the event of suspected malpractice etc.? Indeed, since now we're to have fixed term parliaments, why not mark the start of the election campaign with local launch events, mirroring the declaration at the end. On the fourth Thursday evening before the poll all the candidates would gather at a suitable central location within the constituency, be introduced by the returning officer, have 15 minutes to make a pitch, field a few questions, then be available informally for further questions and discussion in designated
areas of the venue. Obviously local TV and press would be there to cover. Details of this event could also be on the polling cards.

Polling stations too, if they are to be retained on the current model, could be put to more use. There would be logistical problems as most of them have other functions and polling day must be a disruption to the routines of those who work in them. However, if the rooms where the ballot is held could be set aside not just on polling day but for the month before, they could be used as information centres and meeting places, where party activists could be available to answer questions and hold discussions with any member of the public who cared to drop in.

All these ideas are predicated of course on the belief that there is a significant proportion of the electorate who would be interested in availing themselves of such opportunities. Undobtedly there is, but it needs to be enlarged, and that requires other reforms that will be the subject of a future blog.