The optimism of the action is better than the pessimism of the thought.

Our general election consultation has got off to a great start. Thousands of us have signed up to discuss what strategy 38 Degrees should adopt in the run up to May 2010, and there’s a clear sense of energy and purpose in the consultation space.

At the moment we’ve got four discussions running in the space: What are the best and worst outcomes of the election? What are the key issues for us to focus on during the election? How much should we do during the general election? What tactics could we try?

I’ve been taking a look at some of the conversations we’ve been having. One of the busiest areas of discussion so far has been electoral reform. Some of us are fed up with a system that puts the power to determine an election result in the hands of a few voters in marginal seats. As one person put it, “electoral reform is a vital first step to having the views of the progressive majority represented.” Another suggested that voter apathy is a problem we should solve: “I think it’s important to treat the election as something that belongs to all of us.”

Another key topic across the discussion areas is the worry that MPs aren’t accountable to their constituents. One participant said that “the parliamentary whip system generally means that they [MPs] end up representing the position of their party leadership, not that of those who they were elected to represent.” Could 38 Degrees take action to change this?

We’ve already had some memorable posts, too. Thanks to Nemone C for inspiring the ‘How much we should do’ discussion by titling their post “the optimism of the action is better than the pessimism of the thought.”

Please join in our discussion. All you need to do is fill in your details on this form: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/2010-election and we’ll send you login details within 24 hours.