Policy Research Media Morhamburn

Populism is a word often flung around the world of politics as an insult; it’s pejorative connotations hint at laziness, even demagoguery on the part of the accused.

And yet, a word like representative would generally be greeted by the politician upon which it was bestowed as a compliment; that he or she had done their job properly and with due regard to their electorate.

What then is the difference? Or perhaps more importantly, when does a politician move from one to the other?

Hitler was of course a populist, and as history shows a remarkably good one. In this context the word can be placed firmly in the negative.

Many a political commentator spoke of Tony Blair’s ‘popular appeal’ in the positive, perhaps as one of the main factors behind New Labour’s success. Of course others, particularly on the left of Labour would use the same thing as an insult, one that defined (to them) the sparse ideology of New Labour.

What about Barrack Obama; populist, or just popularly appealing? Is there even a difference?

The question may well be one of semantics, but there is also an important substantive point here; when is it right to be ‘populist’ or ‘representative’ and when is it not?

On Thursday Margo MacDonald’s End of Life Assistance Bill will almost certainly be defeated at Stage 1. In reality, it was supported be very few MSPs and was always likely to fail

And yet a poll out yesterday reveals that 77% of Scots support the principles of the Bill, with only 12% against it. It will be interesting to tale up those percentages with the way that Holyrood votes.

Now of course an instant answer to a quick yes/no question does not equate to careful consideration – but it does show that there is almost certainly more appetite in the public at large than there is amongst our MSPs. So who is right?

Is parliament in this instance ameliorating the worst type of un-informed knee-jerk (dare I say populist) reaction, or are they failing to represent their electorate and their society properly when they vote against the Bill, by displaying a ‘we know best’ elitism?

It is not a clear-cut issue. For many years, public appetite for the re-introduction of the death penalty regularly ran into the majority, and yet Westminster politicians remained aloof of that particular public groundswell – was that wrong of them?

The BNP have made big electoral strides in recent times, their critics would say by appealing to ill-informed populism, while they would no-doubt retort that they are being representative.

Semantics it may be, but such debates go to the very core of what we expect from our political classes; representation of the people or for the people, populism or elitism? Whichever you prefer, the decisions that result this week will have very real affects on the lives, and deaths, of many Scots.

[The views expressed by Morhamburn people in their blogs are theirs and theirs alone. they do not represent the thoughts of the company as a whole or our clients. If you have a comment to make on any blog, please email info@morhamburn.com and we’ll put the printable ones up on the website]