All too often politicians and government can become detached from the electorate. There are often claims that politicians fail to take note of the needs of the whole of the country and that they become obsessed only with what is going on in Westminster (or Holyrood, Cardiff or Belfast). They become sidetracked by minor issues that the majority of the country cares little about.
This is, of course, not helped when often media coverage and the main media outlets themselves are also concentrated in the capital cities along with most of the policy-making infrastructure and professional support mechanisms for government. It is up to politicians to lift their eyes to what is taking place around the country and see what is happening.
The British political system gives politicians a unique link back to the communities they serve through their constituencies. This is not, however, sufficient. They need to look for other ways to keep in touch and one way they can do this is by reading more crime novels.
Whilst knowing the names of characters on EastEnders or who came second in the X-factor final can be used to show that a politician is ‘in-touch’ with people, the modern day crime novel can provide them with welcome insights and a better understanding of what people are really thinking about.
- Key issues – the books often examine the issues that are really concerning communities. If you consider, for instance, some of the Scandinavian crime fiction then it revealed much about attitudes towards immigration. The characters in books allow discussions to take place in a more open way than would otherwise be allowed in many other forms of media. The geographical range of crime fiction available, throughout the UK, means that London concerns do not dominate. The novels could be thought of as a more accessible and cheaper form of focus groups.
- Power relationships – the novels often consider the structures of organisations and how they actually work, not the theoretical version of how they are meant to work. The narrative of the books take in the private and, importantly, the public sectors so that the reader is not limited in their views of how power works and who controls what.
- Mis-use of power – a favourite theme of crime fiction is how individuals mis-use their positions either through choice or as a consequence of how the systems around them operate. Being able to look at how people go about their work and the weak spots in the systems means that action can be taken. A form of policy and idea generation for political manifestos.
- Communities – crime novels make a particular effort to be reflective of their environments and the communities in which they are based. This comes through in the dialogue, the characters and, of course, the plot. For some readers, this may be the first or only time that they are exposed to these communities so that can provide some useful insight.
- The uncomfortable truth – as with all fiction, crime novels are able to deal with the truth not as we perceive it but as it really is. Politicians, particularly at a senior level, often surround themselves with supporters and those who are either unwilling or unable to say anything but ‘yes’. More time spent with novels would provide some welcome balance and not allow anyone to take themselves too seriously.
All this should provide useful guidance to any politician. A good crime novel can not only tell them about their local community but also be a source of balance and policy generation. So rather than turning on their TVs, politicians should be opening the pages of a good crime novel. I’d be happy to recommend some to them.