Why are we using a rare referendum to offer judgement on AV? It's like asking people to vote about who uses the swings in the park when the park is going to be turned into a supermarket.
We have the means, in this day and age, to gather opinions from people - and not just the people who are motivated by a single issue because it affects their view (NIMBYs and we are all NIMBYs I concede) - but the hitherto silent majority who might actually support a new development, new roads, infrastructure etc., in order that their kids might have opportunities.
It is costing £millions to facilitate a referendum on something that most people don't understand and don't care about and, crucially, that will not make much of a difference either way, despite what the various advocates tell you.
And at the same time we are not consulting about the EU and our massive contributions to it for relatively little in return. Or the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) which is plainly not about efficiency but about keeping inefficient French farmers in their current lifestyles. Ask the people and they might vote to maintain these positions, but they might not, why are we not investigating these issues which are far more important to our daily lives?
Or war in Iraq - we didn't have a choice did we? A million people in the UK marched against it (not in my name etc) but were ignored. Surely more important than AV - rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. Or the current situation in Libya, which has changed from protecting the civilians, to regime change without any meaningful consultation with the people who are paying for it.
How much would it cost to set up a micro site to gauge public opinion on these and other issues? Governments of both colours are keen to have everyone 'online' presumably so that they can communicate cheaply with the entire population eventually. But communication is a two-way street. Why are they so scared about feedback? Why will no Government allow a referendum unless they are sure of the outcome? These people work for us, not the other way around.
I'm not saying that Facebook or twitter should rule the world. If public opinion ruled the waves in the UK, we'd have hanging back. But surely we should consider public opinion more, when we have the means to do so rather than having this ridculous AV referendum?
