As I slid my entry into the ballot box this morning I couldn’t prevent the image of the luxury holiday I might win from popping into my head. Oops – wrong campaign! But – wait a minute – isn’t this just the kind of thing we need to get Britain’s apathetic electorate into the polling booth? Be in it to win it! Mark your X in the box and – yes! – you could walk away with the latest Xbox! How simple is that? We could have weighted rewards in order to prise the most limpet-like segments of the population off their couches, sponsorship of prizes by political parties (true colours to the fore; SLPs for those who’ve overspent their budgets), and a money-back satisfaction guarantee for every vote cast (but not a promise, I suspect, for which promotional insurance would be available). Wishful thinking? Well, isn’t that what politics is all about?
