On the Andrew Marr show this week Ed Miliband was asked why people should trust Labour? This question, although it was addressed to the Labour leader, may as well have been addressed to all politicians. Low voter turnout partly happens because there is a trust problem.
The reason that people don't trust politicians is because politicians seem to speak a different language from the ordinary person.Politicians are not down to earth because they are too engulfed in the Westminster bubble. There is a disconnect between government policies and the effect on people's everyday lives. Take welfare, I know the welfare bill was too large but the welfare cuts are really hurting even the low income people now. It's not just the unemployed who are suffering. The government comes across as being heartless and ordinary people care about empathy and concern.
Even the way that PMQs is conducted is more about point scoring and slagging off the opposition than talking about the issues at hand and asking questions that would benefit the public. Do you feel confident about Westminster MPs when you watch PMQ? I don't. It's all about making themselves look good so they can win the next election. Politicians forget the real reason that they are in politics - serving the public. Career politics should come second to this. Maybe I am just being idealistic but there is no getting away from the fact that trust is a huge problem for Westminster and if this carries on there will be another low voter turnout at the next election.
The reason that people don't trust politicians is because politicians seem to speak a different language from the ordinary person.Politicians are not down to earth because they are too engulfed in the Westminster bubble. There is a disconnect between government policies and the effect on people's everyday lives. Take welfare, I know the welfare bill was too large but the welfare cuts are really hurting even the low income people now. It's not just the unemployed who are suffering. The government comes across as being heartless and ordinary people care about empathy and concern.
Even the way that PMQs is conducted is more about point scoring and slagging off the opposition than talking about the issues at hand and asking questions that would benefit the public. Do you feel confident about Westminster MPs when you watch PMQ? I don't. It's all about making themselves look good so they can win the next election. Politicians forget the real reason that they are in politics - serving the public. Career politics should come second to this. Maybe I am just being idealistic but there is no getting away from the fact that trust is a huge problem for Westminster and if this carries on there will be another low voter turnout at the next election.
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