CAF Election Special

“I agree with Nick…” The historic televised leaders’ debates have finally started and whilst there seems to be a tremor of excitement over Nick Clegg’s style and Gordon Brown’s smile, what remains lacking is any radical vision from the three main parties about how society should be taken forward. We face the prospect of the first UK hung parliament since 1974, and yet, rather than spurring the parties into drawing significant ideological dividing lines between themselves, this climate has arguably produced a drive for consensus and co-operation like never before. As a result the opinion polls fluctuate wildly, as nobody seems capable of capturing the political imagination of the British people.

Should we still care about the election, or should politics be left to the experts? Should we respond to the economic crises by accepting a limit to our political horizons, or should we argue that the big ideas of Politics are still worth fighting for? Is the election a real opportunity to have a stake in the way society is governed, or does it mean nothing more than putting a cross in a box?