With Reform UK now in disarray and all hell breaking loose in Westminster while this government stumbles from one ghastly gaffe to another, who really is to blame for this mess? Politicians? Certainly yes, but what about us – good old Joe Public?
I always ask those shouting the loudest – have you ever been inside a political party, stood for election, held public office or been part of any campaigns actively? Have you been to conferences, attended local groups or been involved in political campaigns in any way?
Have you met many of the key figures in politics and worked alongside them? Have you delivered leaflets, canvassed, protested, or campaigned on big issues like Brexit? Or at the very least, did you research candidates at election time and cast your vote according to an informed choice?
Since you’re asking, yes I have done all the above and I learned a lot!
Politicians are like the rest of us. They are in competition with each other as well as those on the outside. There will be clashes of opinion and policy even within the same political party. As long as the political landscape is under the control of human beings, this will be the case and I’m afraid we’re stuck with it.
Let’s take Reform UK as an example. I have my own opinions on the current state of affairs and my overriding view is that none of the current shenanigans should have been brought into the public arena, particularly since an investigation is now underway. Once that has been completed, then and only then should this be an open forum for discussion and analysis. Right now there is nothing to analyse, because we don’t know the full circumstances. All we have heard is opposing opinions and hearsay.
This is trial by media. The general public cannot be expected to adjudicate on this, especially those who are glued to mainstream media and/or have never experienced politics from the inside. Nor can many folk be bothered to do the research. Far too many of us pay undue heed to the aforementioned, which is invariably biased.
While the majority continue to stick to only one, or limited, sources of news such as the BBC, Sky and ITV, they will continue to be stuck in a rut of ignorance. Never in history has so much information been made available to the public. Our ancestors didn’t have the internet. They had to rely on leaflets through the door or word of mouth in order to understand who – and what – they were voting for.
In the general election last year, just over 40% of the population couldn’t even be bothered to go to the polling station. In my view, if they can’t put in the effort to learn about the candidates and the parties and make a judgment based on that information, they shouldn’t be carping about the outcome.
I have even less time for those who voted the way the mainstream media told them to, particularly the BBC. In my view, the only reliable source of information is checking it out yourself before you even go to a polling station; time-consuming certainly, but there is no excuse these days thanks to the wealth of information available about candidates online, and off. Nowadays candidates are highly visible during purdah (the pre-election period).
In the run up to the 2024 general election for instance, I only discovered by searching online that here on the Channel Coast in the front line of the invasion, our Labour candidate was an immigration lawyer. He is now our MP, and still people here are moaning about the invasion – but they elected an MP who defends those entering this country illegally! All because they failed to check him out first.
If more people had been more thorough in their vetting of candidates and parties, it might have influenced their votes, and we may well not have found ourselves in the state we are now in. Until such time as the electorate takes more responsibility in this process, and at the very least makes it to the polling station, we will continue to suffer the consequences.
This attitude really beats me because would people go to somebody who was not a doctor if they were ill? Would they employ somebody to fix their car if that person knew nothing about cars? Perhaps many of us assume that politicians are given similar vetting; if so, I fear we are being somewhat naive.
We can point the finger at politicians all we like, but if folk can’t be bothered to do the homework, cast their vote based on that research and take an active interest in what is happening, there is absolutely no hope for the future!
So who is ultimately to blame for the unholy mess British politics now finds itself in? Is it all the fault of the politicians, or the electorate? Or both?
Kim Rye is a former Fleet Street copytaker, freelance journalist and political commentator.
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In regard to the above, I heard a saying years ago that fits the bill…………… Notice to Members…LAST WEEKS meeting of the APATHY SOCIETY has been cancelled”.
I agree ultimately it’s us, the people, who are to blame -but in our defence the system is heavily stacked against us and if there are no palatable political parties to vote for then simply becoming an activist or trying to set up something new is a short cut to insanity, poverty and increasingly prison.
Another diagnosis of current woes is the malign influence of external players and the pathetically low calibre of the vast majority of candidates and also of those actually elected who have no relevant skills or practical life experience and who place themselves and party on a pinnacle only to look down with disdain on their supporters and potential supporters.
People don’t bother researching political candidates or even going along to vote because they believe that it really makes no difference in the end as they are being asked to vote for one of two political parties which are not really very different from each other and the local MP won’t do anything outside their parties’ policies. If you live in a “safe seat” then voting against the Blue or Red (or Yellow) party counts for nothing. My vote only ever counted in the Brexit referendum, for all the good that did! My MPs rarely bother to reply to any emails or letters about any issue whether local, national or international. They don’t need to court my vote so they can ignore me. And before you mention Boris Johnson and the Red Wall, remember that it turned out to be a pointless gesture making absolutely no difference at all. So, yes, Joe Public should take more notice and do more research but only so he can be justified in his anger and despair!
The British political establishment is corrupt to its very core. They don’t serve us, they serve powerful national and international interest groups/individuals/foundations. To a large extent we started down this slippy slope the minute the late Queen gave Royal Assent to the European Communities Act. Brexit made little difference because the establishment didn’t want to deliver Brexit and when they did it was a bit of a dog’s dinner and they certainly didn’t seek to take advantage of what Brexit offered.
These comments reflect the fact that the well meaning message of ‘get involved’ by the author is sadly naive and that those who realise what’s going on have reached their own conclusions.
Much though what most of the author says is correct, I reluctantly and sadly agree with your empirical assessment. I wish it were otherwise.