Why the greatest lie ever told about democracy is so corrosive

Voting really does matter as the alternatives to democracy hardly bear thinking about (Picture: Andy Buchanan) | AFP via Getty Images

“Politicians are all the same.” In many discussions about politics, it’s a claim you will soon hear, often swiftly followed by “they’re all in it for themselves”.

However, while cynicism can appear to be a substitute for wisdom and trusting our elected representatives can seem naive, the heartening truth is that there are many good people in politics who try to do their best for the country. It should not be controversial to say this.

Despite the various scandals over the years – chief among them the MPs’ expenses scandal in which some people badly let themselves down – the majority are in politics for the right reasons. Applying the blight of a few bad apples to the entire crop is not just unfair, it’s foolish.

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A corrupting muth, a corrosive lie

We may disagree with their views, but all who participate in democracy deserve a basic level of respect. Being a politician, opening yourself up to public scrutiny, is a tough job. And it is even tougher for those in government who can be faced with dilemmas in which there are no easy answers and the least-worst option is the best that can be achieved.

As corrupting as the myth that humans are innately selfish can be, the similarly bogus idea that politicians are all the same is even more corrosive to democracy. If that were true, then voting wouldn’t change anything and democracy wouldn’t matter. One end-point of such a thought process is tyranny.

However, as we head into an election with parties as varied as the Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats, Reform UK, the Scottish Greens, and the SNP, it’s hard to see how anyone can possibly subscribe to that view. Scotland would be a radically different place under any of these parties, with those in favour of independence arguing for what would be the most fundamental change of all with profound consequences for this country.

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So everyone should vote and be careful about who they vote for, because it really does matter. Democracy may not be perfect, but it is undoubtedly the best of all the available options. As Winston Churchill once said: “... it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government, except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”

Whatever you do this week, vote. If we don't bother to exercise our democratic rights, at some point in a bleak, dystopian future, we just might end up losing them.