innocent bystanders or lazy cynics?

Every five years Parliament must be dissolved and the parties are forced to go on the campaign road and convince people to vote for them. For almost three weeks the people hold the power over who will govern before, traditionally, another single party wins a majority and forms a government for another five years. During these five years, the people hold little to no direct power. Effectively, the executive within the government decide policy and then rely on the party whips to see the bill through. The mechanisms of opposition are weak and the opposition party is left to play devil's advocate and pick on the U-turns and mistakes of the party in power. Of course, many argue this system was designed to produce strong government with a strong mandate and decisive policy action. However, with the coalition introducing fixed parliaments of five years, the scars of the expenses scandal, it seems the people are moving further and further away from where power really lies. Although the student protests earlier in the year show that the act of protest isn't completely dead, too many of us are bystanders to the progression of politics.A mixture of cynicism, a lack of political education and ignorance all contribute to the growing disillusionment. The hung Parliament was the strongest signal of this. As this coalition enacts some of the most divisive and crucial policies within one of the most unstable and difficult periods in Britain's recent history, perhaps the people will be forced to have their voices heard, and hopefully, the parties will be forced to listen...