X-factor political populism

Simon Cowell has spoken on Newsnight about an X-factor formatted politics show.

“If you went around the country, it would be five or six issues which I think are really, really important in people’s lives, so I think there could be a referendum-type TV show where you can speak on both sides and then open it up to the public to get an instant poll.”

There are so many fundamental flaws in this idea that I’m amazed an obviously intelligent, astute man would suggest it. Clearly he’s thinking more about his bank balance than the good of the country.

First of all, the technical problems are many. If these ‘referendums’ actually had any influence they would exclude those without televisions, there would be huge problems on limiting fraud as people often own more than one phone, there could be widespread corruption as people could be bribed or coerced within their homes and also he’d never let the votes come in without a fee on each one which is, in essence, charging people to vote.

One of the ‘really, really important issues’ was knife crime. If 10 million people were to vote, as they did in X-factor, what would they be voting on? ‘Do you think knife crime is bad?’, ‘Do you think there should be harsher punishments for carrying knives?’. I find it alarming that Cowell isn’t aware of Yougov or any of the other hundreds of market research companies that compile opinion polls on such subject regularly. Obviously something is wrong with the rate of violent crime in the streets but it naîve to think Cowell and his TV fantasy could help change this.

As much as the youth of today’s political apathy is mentioned  you only have to look at the global protests in relation to the United Nations Climate Change Conference Copenhagen 2009 or the Iraq war and on a more local scale the  picket outside the BBC studios during Nick Griffin’s Question Time appearance. We don’t need to cheapen democracy by adding glitzy titles and having it presented to us by Fearne Cotton, we need to make people believe that politicians can do the right thing, that they won’t scam their own constituents with their expenses claims and that they genuinely want to the best for the voters.

That is the biggest problem of all, Cowell isn’t here for you or me, he is here for himself.