Hard-hitting IT commentator Dr Simon Moores gives his personal take
on the hot issue of the day."Democracy," said the Greek general
Alcibiades, "is acknowledged folly." If he was alive today, he
would certainly have had something to say about e-democracy.
In a progressive sense, government is on the right track this week
by allowing an e-democracy debate in the House of Commons. The idea
is that voters should be able to e-mail in their views on new
legislation before it is rubber-stamped by an enormous majority and
passes on to the statute book.
Labour MP Graham Allen is asking parliament to consider expanding
its e-democracy programme. He would like to allow the public to
comment on the small print of new laws through "pre-legislative
scrutiny" and Webcasting special committees, to avoid problems in
future. Poor old Sir Humphrey Appleby must be spinning in his grave
at the thought of such a thing.
The IR35 and the regulation of investigatory powers legislation are
two good examples of legislation that might have benefited from
e-democracy. But apart from these it's hard to find anything these
days that can become law without encouraging a collective shudder
from the rest of us.
I agree with Alcibiades, who got it right before the Athenians
shoved him into exile for being a little too good-looking and
ambitious. You start allowing the people to decide on the direction
of legislation and who knows where it will lead?
These days, the only people who get really involved in politics are
the card-carrying zealots. Take the hunting argument online and MPs
will be swamped with e-mail from people who are in favour of
spending the weekend on horseback as their dogs tear apart small
furry animals, while the rest of us will continue watching the
omnibus edition of
Eastenders.
A better idea perhaps, rather than inviting an e-mail plague from
the Countryside Alliance, is to use the Sky News interactive
polling model. It's very simple, press the red button or the green
button. "Should we invade Iraq?" Yes or No? "Do you believe Steven
Byers?" Yes or No?
It may be
Big Brother all over again, but it is also a great
opportunity to start involving the people, you and me, at least in
the early stages of legislation, through the television and the
6,000 UK-Online centres across the country.
What the politicians forget is that, regardless of class or
education, most people have some degree of common sense. Today's
politicians are also unlikely to have a strong grasp of classical
history. I don't think they realise that democracy was an early
interactive entertainment medium that gave the hungry masses a
sense of involvement, something that we have very little sense of
in this country anymore.
Watching Webcasts of parliament sessions are reassuring to those of
us who are interested because it shows willing on the part of the
government and cuts through the veil of secrecy that continues to
plague our democratic process. My wife, who used to work as a press
officer in Downing Street, tells me that the Ministry of Defence's
alcohol entertainment budget is an official secret.
You should have the right to e-mail your views on legislation in
the same way that you should expect to be able to e-mail your MP.
However, I cannot see a process of e-mail consultation really
working and I have had experience of this working in practice. It
costs money; lots of money, to moderate the incoming message flow,
and it attracts hackers like flies to honey.
All that will happen is that government will be swamped and
generate even more paperwork that MPs will have no time to
read.
A far better idea is to do a deal with Sky Television, the BBC and
the new local digital TV pilot projects. Concentrate on the big
issues and not the small details. Ask the people what they think,
rather than the MPs who rarely bother to ask. Press button polling
to express an opinion every now and then. It does sound dangerously
like democracy to me.
Will interactive TV voting enhance the democratic
process?>>Zentelligence: Setting the world to rights with the collected
thoughts and ramblings of the futurist writer, broadcaster and
Computer Weekly columnist Simon Moores.