Everyday Democracy
Why We Get the Politicians We Deserve
Description:... The myth that strong leaders will transform the fortunes of their parties is a distraction from the real crisis of democracy, according to an essay published today by Demos, the leading democratic think tank. In Everyday Democracy: Why we get the politicians we deserve, Demos’ director Tom Bentley argues that our democracy is facing a crisis of legitimacy which the main political parties are failing to address. Politicians’ ability to tackle major issues is undermined by their lack of legitimacy - more than half of the public describe both the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition as ‘untrustworthy’. But Bentley argues that we have made genuine political leadership which tackles the big issues faced by society almost impossible. “We get the politicians we deserve,” says the essay’s author, Tom Bentley. “As voters, we have unrealistic expectations of our leaders and their ability to deliver far-reaching change. People inevitably feel disappointed in our politicians, and many react by opting out of the democratic process altogether - which reduces the legitimacy of democracy for us all.” “We don’t just need new leaders - we need a new form of leadership which acknowledges its own limitations, while challenging the public to tackle the big issues such as climate change or the pensions crisis by changing their own attitudes and behaviour.” “The main parties are currently obsessed by a ‘strong leader myth’ which will do nothing to restore their own legitimacy or revive our political culture. Neither Labour nor the Conservatives have the appetite for an open debate about their future direction among their own members, let alone the country as a whole.” The post-election crisis of democratic legitimacy has avoided the serious underlying reasons for political disengagement and focused instead on electoral processes, from reform of the House of Lords to proportional representation and compulsory voting. “The current proposals for reviving our political culture cling to a model of constitutional democracy from which people are turning away”, says Bentley. “There’s a danger that they distract us from the real issues - how to connect the issues we face in our everyday lives, from our families to the work place, to genuine democratic choices.” Bentley points to the democratic crisis of legitimacy in the European Union as evidence that an attempt to use traditional forms of representation to exercise democratic choice will not succeeded.
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