Peter Moore: Our great privilege to criticise politicians

It is never a good idea to look at social media during an election campaign. “All politicians are in it for themselves”. “Don’t vote, it only encourages them”. “They don’t care about ordinary people like us”.

But look around the world. We are lucky, even privileged, to live in a liberal democracy. 

I am not going to predict the results but there are some predictions I can make. There is a list of negatives which are positive, which is an oxymoron. This is the only time I will use the word “moron” discussing this election. 

 If Rishi Sunak loses, he will not refuse to accept the result. The, mostly elderly, members of the Conservative Party will not storm Parliament shouting, “stop the steal”, although it paints an interesting picture. Rishi Sunak is unlikely to ring the Torbay Returning Officer asking him to “find me another 2,000 votes”. 

When Boris Johnson’s proroguing of Parliament was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court some politicians did not agree but no one suggested that Baroness Hale was a member of the Labour Party. As always there were bizarre conspiracy theories. What did the large spider brooch really mean but our judiciary is politically independent. The judges in the American Supreme Court are known to be Republicans or Democrats. 

We do not need to look across the pond to appreciate our democracy. After the election the losing party will not put tanks in Parliament Square. Rishi Sunak is not going to suddenly cancel the election and announce that he is our leader for life. We will not follow North Korea in seeing staged demonstrations with thousands of people all chanting “Rishi our beloved leader” or banning Mother’s Day as we should not love our mothers more than we love our beloved leader, Rishi. 

We also know that opposition politicians will not get arrested on trumped up charges, thrown into jail and mysteriously die. The Government will not set up a prison on a remote Scottish Island or even throw opposition politicians into Dartmoor and turn off the heating. 

Opposition candidates will be allowed to stand. The courts will not find a spurious reason to ban Keir Starmer or Nigel Farage from the ballot. Even the Monster Raving Loony Party can put up candidates, although they may appear more rational than some of the other parties.

Any debate on the BBC, ITV or Sky will allow a free discussion, although a good interviewer will try to pin down the politician to give an answer. If a member of the audience disagrees with a government minister there will not be a knock on their door at 3am to take them away. 

When the votes are counted it is unlikely that ministers will suddenly win 99 per cent of the vote. The count will be fair. 

We have always complained about politicians. In one survey people were asked whether they thought that politicians were in it for themselves, their party or put the country first. Only a third thought they put the county first. Over half said that they were only in it for themselves. That survey was in August 1944, when Churchill was Prime Minister, and we were at war.  I doubt that a similar survey could have been carried out in Nazi Germany. 

 Complaining about politicians is a privilege. I suspect that people in China, North Korea, Iran or Russia would love to moan about the Government but realise that it is not a good idea. 

Our democracy has evolved through the centuries and must continue to evolve. We cannot be complacent. Our democracy is far from perfect. In 2019 the government won a massive majority with 43.6 per cent of the popular vote. It is difficult for small parties to be heard. There is cynicism amongst younger voters, many of whom don’t vote.

Before we go online to complain that our politicians are all corrupt and only in it for themselves the mere fact that we can make these points publicly is a privilege. Remember that, unlike many other countries, we can always vote out our leaders. That must be our greatest privilege.