how to overcome voter apathy

As the Labour Party sets about tearing itself to bits (again), I have a suggestion for the upcoming party conference.

A centrepiece boxing match between Blair and Brown. (Prescott could referee, Paddy Ashdown would have to head the judges). It might not solve anything but it would be entertaining. Maybe it would clear the air.

Don’t get me wrong. I disapprove of violence- partly on moral grounds, also because I’m not very good at it. But this is too good an opportunity to miss.

Also, think of the amusement value of the sideline scrap for media rights to the event. The party could gain huge revenues- it might not need to sell off peerages to fund its next campaign. It would also be a bargaining chip in the ongoing dance with Rupert Murdoch for the support of his newspapers. Television rights to the bout of the decade in return for favourable headlines in The Sun. The BBC would complain that it was of sufficient importance to the populace to be ringfenced for free-to-air broadcast. The bookies would clean up. Imagine the fun the newspapers could have.

Reality TV has become workaday and lost its lustre- we need a new piece of ‘event’ television. In the age of the soundbite and the i-pod photo opportunity, the Labour Party has the option of taking the marriage of media and politics to a new level and setting a precedent for leadership contests and beyond. How long before a general election is discredited by accusations of doping?