The Crisis of Political Debate...

I have never been so despairing of political debate in this country as I am at present. The blogsphere has seen the decline of debate and reasoned argument in favour of the mindless tirade of the partisan.

We now see on sites like politicalbetting.com debate dominated by abuse and by rancour. Original thought has been replaced by the plagarising of other people's articles and the selective use of cut-and-paste to support a viewpoint and a total inability to be self-critical of one's own party or viewpoint.

This decline in civility and the quality of debate has accelerated since the Election. There are those who vitriol against the Liberal Democrats for joining a Coalition with the Conservatives is matched only by their lack of comprehension as to why it happened and equal lack of comprehension regardingt the Liberal Democrats and their beliefs. The "angry centre" now dominates the debate but their anger leaves them not only impotent but with nothing of value to add to the debate.

Reasoned critique and mea culpa is slowly emerging from Labour ranks but these things take time while the Conservatives continuie to throw blame at Labour and are only slowly coming to terms with the fact that in Government there has to be some responsibility for decisions.

The forthcoming AV referendum is already polarising opinions and there remain some whose anger at May's events (and they include anti-Coalition Conservatives) won't easily fade.

Politics is a rough trade as John Major once opined but that doesn't excuse or condone abuse or inflexibility of opinion. No one has a monopoly on being right any more than they have a monopoly on being wrong.

The blogsphere should be encouraging aqn exchange of ideas and opinions in a constructive atmosphere - instead, it is the domain of sad inadequate partisans for whom the anger is all they have and nothing constructive to add.

And we all suffer...