Headlines
The Review Online
The Expenses Scandal – a Disaster for Democracy
25th June 2009
Shae Courtney states that he has “thoroughly enjoyed every minute” of the petty tirade which has been at the forefront of British politics in recent months. However, this attitude, with which all too many of the population are regarding the expenses scandal, is of great cause for concern.
Firstly, The Telegraph’s handling of the information’s release was unprofessional at best. The stories were sensationalised in a desperate paper-selling ploy, and MPs were often point-blank refused the column space to dispute or justify their claims. Instead, they left their columnists free to make often unfounded attacks on MPs in general, rather than awaiting the results of an independent commission to find out the whole story. If the media had then engaged in constructive scrutiny, based on facts and circumstances instead of sarcasm and anger, those in the wrong would have rightly been punished (such should be the nature of political scrutiny), rather than the ugly, one-size fits-all mood of anti-politics which is rife throughout the country.
Secondly, though perhaps most notably, the scandal has been the polar opposite of an ‘exercise in people power’ as Courtney heralds. Rather than viewing the scandal as an opportunity to lead to a more transparent, politically informed society, the electorate have, at large – with the help of the anger-stirring, sensationalist media – taken political ignorance to a new, unprecedented level. A lamentable atmosphere of anti-politics has spread like cholera across the nation, wherein an apathetic, ill-informed public take every opportunity to be as derisive and cynical as possible. Seldom do I hear or see constructive action being demanded by the people in order to improve our flawed political system. People seem to be content in merely pouring scorn and sarcasm over it – it is very easy to make saddening statements such as “they’re all as bad as each other” – the staple catchphrase at every pub-stool political scrutiny session.
The result? Less political engagement and less people power. The ‘protest vote’ has led to a victory for the frankly amateur UKIP – playing the ‘all politicians are the same’ card very effectively indeed – and more worryingly, the allocation of 2 seats to the extremist BNP. Andrew Brons, who was a member of the National Socialist (Nazi) and National Front parties prior to joining the BNP, and Nick Griffin, a man who called the murder of 6 million people in the holocaust an “extremely profitable lie”, both now claim to represent us in the EU Parliament. This is predominantly attributable to a growing mood of apathy and cynicism, which has led to despicable levels of turnout and the aforementioned ‘protest vote’ phenomenon.
The current feeling of anti-politics is anything but an exercise in people power. People power involves the exercise of popular influence on political decisions – record-low turnout (34%) in the recent EU Parliament elections, wherein any campaigning took part via the proxy of bath plugs and duck houses rather than on political issues, confirms that people power has taken a huge hit from the expenses scandal. It should not be forgotten that democracy is a delicate, valuable thing. When we say “a plague on both your houses”, we should be more careful what we wish for, lest it comes true.
Firstly, The Telegraph’s handling of the information’s release was unprofessional at best. The stories were sensationalised in a desperate paper-selling ploy, and MPs were often point-blank refused the column space to dispute or justify their claims. Instead, they left their columnists free to make often unfounded attacks on MPs in general, rather than awaiting the results of an independent commission to find out the whole story. If the media had then engaged in constructive scrutiny, based on facts and circumstances instead of sarcasm and anger, those in the wrong would have rightly been punished (such should be the nature of political scrutiny), rather than the ugly, one-size fits-all mood of anti-politics which is rife throughout the country.
Secondly, though perhaps most notably, the scandal has been the polar opposite of an ‘exercise in people power’ as Courtney heralds. Rather than viewing the scandal as an opportunity to lead to a more transparent, politically informed society, the electorate have, at large – with the help of the anger-stirring, sensationalist media – taken political ignorance to a new, unprecedented level. A lamentable atmosphere of anti-politics has spread like cholera across the nation, wherein an apathetic, ill-informed public take every opportunity to be as derisive and cynical as possible. Seldom do I hear or see constructive action being demanded by the people in order to improve our flawed political system. People seem to be content in merely pouring scorn and sarcasm over it – it is very easy to make saddening statements such as “they’re all as bad as each other” – the staple catchphrase at every pub-stool political scrutiny session.
The result? Less political engagement and less people power. The ‘protest vote’ has led to a victory for the frankly amateur UKIP – playing the ‘all politicians are the same’ card very effectively indeed – and more worryingly, the allocation of 2 seats to the extremist BNP. Andrew Brons, who was a member of the National Socialist (Nazi) and National Front parties prior to joining the BNP, and Nick Griffin, a man who called the murder of 6 million people in the holocaust an “extremely profitable lie”, both now claim to represent us in the EU Parliament. This is predominantly attributable to a growing mood of apathy and cynicism, which has led to despicable levels of turnout and the aforementioned ‘protest vote’ phenomenon.
The current feeling of anti-politics is anything but an exercise in people power. People power involves the exercise of popular influence on political decisions – record-low turnout (34%) in the recent EU Parliament elections, wherein any campaigning took part via the proxy of bath plugs and duck houses rather than on political issues, confirms that people power has taken a huge hit from the expenses scandal. It should not be forgotten that democracy is a delicate, valuable thing. When we say “a plague on both your houses”, we should be more careful what we wish for, lest it comes true.