A referendum-turned-circus

So, the UK had a referendum last week. Did you notice? Whether you were breathlessly berating your friends as to the pros and cons of the Alternative Vote in the UK, or defiantly maintaining that you weren’t interested and never would be, the likelihood was you knew something was happening.

Some among us were following the campaigns, the numerous debates and the seemly ceaseless mud-slinging with concerned interest; this was where the referendum became confused. What should have been a decision as to whether to support a change in the UK’s voting system became a decision as to which campaign was better presented; better run.

On the face of it, the referendum seemed quite exciting politically. The electorate would be faced within a choice between two options; two electoral systems. These options could not make speeches for themselves, they could not make faux pas in live televised debates, and they did not have personal lives to be dragged into the public eye and scrutinized beyond all reasonable necessity. In short, it was exciting to be able to look towards (what could have been) one of the key political events in our nation’s history and know that the usual cheap election tricks and the usual pictures of politicians in questionable beachwear would not complicate a serious issue.

Unfortunately, this was not to be the case. Perhaps anyone who believed that a political debate lacking in contrived attempts to swing votes was naive, but it was nonetheless disappointing to see what this particular referendum descended into. Attempts to persuade people that voting one way or the other was to align yourself with certain political parties were, at the very least, redundant. How both ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ campaigns were run was also redundant. The referendum was a choice as to how we are to elect representatives to the House of Commons, not a choice as to which campaign we felt was best orchestrated.

Regardless of the result of this referendum, all that remains for some is a deep sense of disappointment. Disappointment in our politicians and our media for allowing the debate to become what it did: an irrelevant side show which ultimately distracted from one of the most important political decisions this country would make for what could be a very long time. Never mind. It’s only politics.