Referendum - Just a Big Focus Group

Referendum - A general vote by the electorate on a single political question which has been referred to them for a direct decision.

Focus Group - People who give their opinions on a particular issue.

Democracy - Government by the people or their elected representatives.

I am vacillating about the EU Referendum. Hitherto I have definitely been an "inner". I now think that whatever the outcome we will have been mislead by both sides using at best, speculative "facts" & at worst downright lies. Like so much in the modern complex world, everything is a matter of opinion & is based on the partisan interpretation of statistics.

Worse - I actually don't think it matters either way, whatever the outcome is. Half of the population is going to be disappointed at the result. There will be recriminations. All of the prophecies are totally speculative & may or may not come true. The result will have been achieved by whichever side has been better at PR, more persuasive & managed to get more positive publicity for their view. The media rules in our democracy. The most appealing personalities sway opinion more effectively.

The public are just a huge Focus Group. It's bad enough that politicians rule & make everyday decisions by focus group. Decisions are made on the criteria of what is the most popular view to enable politicians to hang on to power. At heart I think that makes politicians shallow, indecisive & needy.

We elect & pay our politicians to make the complex decisions necessary for the ultimate good of our country & the world at large. That's how democracy works. We pay our civil servants to do the research into the alternatives & present carefully thought out options. Those decisions are rarely easy or straightforward. Despite our age of instant communication & access to information, issues like the EU Referendum are extremely difficult for the population to be properly informed about. When the available information cannot be relied on the whole process falls into disrepute. Many won't even make the effort, either because it feels futile or because they don't trust what they have been told.

So what do we / I do? I don't know. All I do know is that I no longer think we have politicians we can trust to act in our best interest. Even worse - I no longer think that we have democracy as I understand it.

If honest democracy has died on our watch our grandchildren will pay the price & judge us.

Martin Lewis seems to agree with me.
http://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2016/06/05/how-to-vote-in-the-eu-referendum/?utm_content=buffer6bef8&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer