No amount of grand electoral commissions can easily cure the public's deep-seated suspicion that, much like an ITV phone-in, the house always wins.

Eleven years ago, Mark Durkan stared into the constitutional abyss and saw Dermot O’Leary staring back. During the bitter debates over English Votes for English Laws, the SDLP stalwart warned that endless procedural tinkering risked turning British democracy into a Saturday night shiny-floor show. He predicted voters would end up trapped in "Ant and Dec land", where the lines are open, you might be charged, but your vote ultimately counts for nothing. Naturally, Parliament ignored him and plowed ahead. Today, as the Commons ties itself in fresh knots over the Representation of the People Bill and a proposed National Commission on Electoral Reform, Durkan’s diagnosis remains painfully accurate. Having spent a decade alienating the electorate with impenetrable voting rules and boundary contortions, MPs are now desperately trying to rewire the franchise to win back public trust. The current administration is valiantly attempting to modernize the mechanics of representation. Yet the creeping sensation persists that we are merely voting to keep the least offensive contestant in the Westminster jungle. No amount of grand electoral commissions can easily cure the public's deep-seated suspicion that, much like an ITV phone-in, the house always wins.

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