Information Nation: The nonsensical nature of intrigue

Protestors continuously argued the last few months for extended access to Parliament information, but now we finally have it, is it really what we wanted?

The idea was simple: what do we not know about our government that we should know? There wasn’t a particular question, we just wanted an answer. When you say it like that, it sounds simple and childish. There was an intrigue to where money went and how it was spent, from here there is a suggestion that this probing would lead to a discovery. In the eyes of training journalist, this is all fair play. Information, fact and statistics are all truth and the truth is knowledge and in turn this is in the interest of the public. So what does this mean? Were we looking for a scandal? That’s a terrible assumption to make. The British public is used to Tabloid gossip unveiling the latest government cock-up, and now John Prescott is out of the headlines, there is a hunt for the next Mr. Two Jags.

This is where I agree with Labour’s Anne Cryer for labelling this process as a “media witch hunt”. What is more worrying with this extended freedom information is the result it will have. The understanding is that the three major parties in British politics are all planted in the middle ground. Supporters of Labour, Conservative and the Liberal Democrats blur into each other with the loss of any ideological standing. So, there is conclusion coming from this. With the absence of effort that MPs should be making to impress voters, the media has taken the decision making into its own hands. This would explain the profile of our leading politicians that is being created. But this goes back to the comical caricature portraits of the early 1900’s which has become institutional. At the end of the day, the only results we were shown involves Gordon Brown’s expert hygiene and David Cameron’s mortgage payments. No scandal I’m afraid. What is happening here is nothing short of political theatre, with the media fishing for the villains.