Most elections present the public with a measure of choice.
But the British general election of 2001 has found it difficult to sustain even the illusion of choice. New Labour's empty rhetoric about 'choice not chance' never fooled anybody - not that very many people cared. From the outset, the outcome of this election has been a foregone conclusion, with the other parties there only to help create the pretence of a contest. The media initially went through the motions of pretending that this was a real election campaign. But by the final week, even journalists and commentators had stopped pretending.