Cynicism of politics 'due to bloggers'

Thursday, November 06, 2008

As America boasts election turnout figures of around 75 per cent, Communities Secretary Hazel Blears has chosen to attack political bloggers and national newspapers for their less than positive attitude towards UK politics and politicians in general.

Blears told a Hansard Society conference on political disengagement in the UK that people are turning off politics because of "corrosive cynicism" in the media and she expressed serious concern over how working class voters in particular are engaging less with the political scene. In one of the many-to-come ‘lessons we can learn from the Obama victory’ actions (witness Alex Salmond’s SNP party showing off their hastily produced ‘yes we can’ placards in the Glenrothes campaign), Blears said it was time for all political parties to look to use the internet better when campaigning and in drawing in more voters from ethnic minority groups and the working class.

Claiming that "we are witnessing a dangerous corrosion in our political culture", Blears said that newspapers desperate for stories are turning every political discussion into a row, every difficulty a crisis, every rocky patch for the Prime Minister into his worst week ever. Then she attacked – by name – those who blog.

"Perhaps because of the nature of the technology, there is a tendency for political blogs to have a 'Samizdat' style," she said. "The most popular blogs are rightwing, ranging from the considered Tory views of Iain Dale, to the vicious nihilism of Guido Fawkes. Perhaps this is simply anti-establishment. Blogs have only existed under a Labour government. Perhaps if there was a Tory government, all the leading blogs would be left-of-centre?

"But mostly, political blogs are written by people with disdain for the political system and politicians, who see their function as unearthing scandals, conspiracies and perceived hypocrisy. Until political blogging 'adds value' to our political culture, by allowing new voices, ideas and legitimate protest and challenge, and until the mainstream media reports politics in a calmer, more responsible manner, it will continue to fuel a culture of cynicism and despair."

Blears also attacked ‘career politicians’, saying that it was "deeply unhealthy" for politicians to be drawn from a narrowing social base and range of experience as they move from university activist through MPs’ researcher, think tank member, and special adviser to MP and the frontbench.

Blears said: "[Politics needs] more people who know what it is to worry about the rent collector's knock, or the fear of lay-off, so that the decisions we take reflect the realities people face. In short, we need more Dennis Skinners, more David Davises, more David Blunketts in the front line."

Blears said one solution could be an Emily's List approach which could help ‘ordinary’ people to move into politics, the alternative being unthinkable, ie "a politics which increasingly speaks with a middle class, middle England accent, and the people with the most to gain from democratic politics – the poorest and most vulnerable – being the ones least likely to be involved in it".