This week I heard a reference to Pavlov and his dogs on a programme on Radio 4 which explained that due to a russian siege or winter (I really wasn’t listening fully), the poor dogs used by the Russian scientist to determine social conditioning, were ultimately eaten along with many other pets and domestic animals. Just hold that thought!

As you may know I am standing in an election to become the first Police and Crime Commissioner in Sussex, check out my website for more information. The election takes place on 15th November and whilst Independent politicians are not widely represented in Parliament (Martin Bell was one of the few exceptions), there are a sprinkling in our various Councils (although some Independent Councillors are people who have fallen out of favour with their party of choice, not those who have chosen it as a noble label). However because of this campaign I have had the chance to speak to a number of politicians in order to understand their motivations and decision-making processes. 

What has surprised me is that several of those I have spoken to, have a very perverse view of why they should fight elections that they cannot win. I should stress that whilst my election as an Independent would be a surprise to many, I am confident that if the electorate in Sussex are as keen to elect an Independent as a recent poll suggests, that I have a very good chance of being the first Police and Crime Commissioner for our area. Despite this the most logical outcome of the election is that the Conservative party will win, they were the largest party by a large margin in 2010’s general election. Yet they are also the party that has spoken most widely about the need for Independent candidates to stand and my personal feedback is that I have support amongst many of their traditional voters, on the strength of my personal integrity and credibility.

This then leaves three parties who have a track record of attracting votes across Sussex (something I do not have, as this is my first election) but who are unlikely to attract additional votes in November and certainly not from people who want to see an Independent PCC. I have had in-depth discussions with senior leaders of all of these parties including some at a national level and they have reported back a view that I find strange and casts questions about their view of those of us who vote for them. 

The view is that whilst they admit to having no chance of winning the election in Sussex, that they need to fight the campaign to ensure that ‘their’ core electors don’t get out of the habit of voting for them. They depend on this habit to be sure that they will be returned at the next local/general election. I have enough understanding of branding theory to know that this is what lies behind the idea. We need to be reminded that Pepsi is better than Coca Cola (or vice versa), or else we might choose the wrong drink next time we go to the bar.

My concern is that this is the same form of conditioning that Pavlov was working on, and frankly it treats us all as dogs, and indeed it probably means that those who are currently teaching us to come for sustenance when they ring the right bell, might ultimately consume us! We all deserve better than this from our politicians and voting Independent at the PCC elections (wherever you live) is one way of sending all of them the message that we understand the system at least as well as they do, and that they are meant to be our servants, not our masters!