Apathy and Incompetence

This General Election is supposed to be the On-Line Election or the Leader's Debates Election, but my experience of assisting in one candidate's campaign tells me that the major characteristics of this election are Apathy and Incompetence.

The response of the general public to public meetings and campaigning activity has been woeful, with attendances at meetings being in the region of 20 to 30 people and activists having to work very hard to have the public accept their Party's election literature.

This is understandable given the fact that all the main Parties are threatening the electorate with unemployment, greater poverty and poorer services but the sheer incompetence of most of the candidates at meetings I have attended is hard to believe.

At one hustings the UKIP candidate, attempting to represent a constituency with an economically inactive population of 30% admitted that he knew nothing about DWP crisis loans, the Liberal candidate had such a grasp of new technology that he did not know if the microphone was on or off on 3 separate occasions, the Labour candidate who had been parachuted in by HQ over the heads of local party members could hardly string 3 sentences together and was guilty of numerous pregnant pauses, the Tory candidate admitted that he worked in the public sector yet still supported extensive cuts in public expenditure reminding all present about Turkeys voting for Christmas.

The only saving grace was the competence and ability of the SNP and SSP candidates.

Despite their heroic efforts, it is no wonder that our "democratic system" is disappearing down the drain and that the turn-out in this particular election is heading for a figure of somewhat under 40%.