It all seemed so odd as I stood ready to make marks on the two bits of seemingly insignificant bits of paper before me.
I’ve spent the past month in the thick of it, meeting politicians and candidates, asking folk in the street what they make of it all, interviewing academics, writing tens of thousands of words about policies, parties, polls and puff, reading papers, watching TV, listening to the radio.
But as I meandered over to my old nursery school, polling cards in hand, I couldn’t feel more detached.
Therein lies the problem. I think most people feel detached – at least from the notion that how they vote can actually change the world around us.
We get so swamped by it all: TV leaders’ debates, leaflets through the door, canvassers in the street, election-flavoured crisps and manifesto-responsive cucumbers (apparently).
It ends up more like a football tournament or a war game than a choice on where the country’s going and what it should be doing.
Perhaps a pic ‘n’ mix system would work. Relatively few people actually read election manifestos and know all the policies, so maybe instead of parties we could push these to the fore and let people pick and choose:
“I’ll have some of Labour’s economic policy, a scoop of the Lib Dem’s education ideas and the Tories’ plans to axe National Insurance rises please. Oh, and a coconut mushroom and some rum and raisin fudge please.”
The system would be entirely unworkable of course. But I am partial to fudge.
Leave a comment