Yesterday, the postman brought a largish envelope from Electoral Reform Services, containing my ballot paper for the election of a new Council for Unlock Democracy. I am reminded that time flies, having opened the envelope only to find that most of the names are relatively unfamiliar. Given that I was not only on Council myself, but was even a member of the Management Board until four years ago, that might come as a surprise to some.
And so, I have the challenge of deciding how to cast my vote. Ruling out those who haven't managed to submit a manifesto - sorry, but that must surely be a minimum requirement - as well as those whose political views appear to contradict the aims of the organisation, leaves me with a gratifyingly long list.
In order to find out a little more about them, I've asked those on the list a question via e-mail;
Is it ever right to personalise a campaign by attacking individuals, as the UD Lords Reform campaign has tended to do, and if so, when and why?
And for those candidates who didn't supply an e-mail address, please assume that you will be ranked further down my preference list than those who did. It's a participatory democracy, and if you don't want us to play, you might not be entering into the spirit of the thing...
I await some answers... and reserve the right to ask follow-ups...
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