How Can I Be Sure

This is a well known track by The Young Rascals in 1967 and it was also released five years later in 1972 as a Cover Version by David Cassidy.

I have chosen this number as I merely wanted to highlight the potential for inconsistencies when it comes to announcing winners of Reality TV programmes because the whole issue becomes at best opaque when the decision making process transcends from the judges expertise to what sometimes could be termed the irrational view of the populous.? Before I get into the nuts and bolts of the article I want to sight an example as to how any voting should perhaps be done and that example, albeit hardly a pinnacle of excellence, is the template for the election of a new Prime Minister.

We have, of course, had the benefit recently of two ‘in house’ elections for a new Prime Minister.? The first was a ballot of Conservative Party Members that elected Liz Truss to succeed Boris Johnson.? One could perhaps question the wisdom of those who voted for Truss as she barely lasted seven weeks in the job but at least we all had the benefit of tangible proof how the votes were cast.? The election of Rishi Sunak as the replacement Prime Minister for Truss was also a transparent vote and the direct result of Conservative Members of Parliament.

When I was a student back in the early seventies most of the tabloid newspapers published weekly the number of viewers watching the most popular programmes.? These numbers were deemed to be correct and it was no surprise that Coronation Street was always ‘top of the pops’.? I doubt viewer appetite has changed much since then, albeit the choice of rival Soaps and the amount of screen hours devoted to these programmes has grown exponentially.? The appetite to lock into these programmes amuses my intellect and I hasten to add that I don’t watch any of the Soaps.? To my knowledge I am also not aware that viewer numbers are still published but I will no doubt be informed if I am wrong and, of course, if the public wants to avidly watch the Soaps it is their choice. We live in a democracy.

However, my general concern is towards programmes where the general public voted; there always used to be a verification process.? Wind forward to the current day and How Can I Be Sure of the result when, in my opinion, the cream doesn’t always float to the top.? Let me explain my thoughts.

Emotional baggage is sometimes the key driver of the winning choice from the broad range of talent that is on parade but the bigger issue these days is the ability to apply multiple voting and for a modest cost courtesy of technology.? I prefer to generalise on this subject so I don’t want to go into specific personalities.? However, there is always a but and I would highlight one name in order to highlight my explanation and that is Sam Ryder.

I haven’t got an issue with Sam Ryder as a performer although whenever I see him interviewed or perform, ?I think he is covertly trying to land the leading role in Jesus Christ Superstar.? In fairness to Sam, he won Eurovision in 2022 on the Jury Vote but came second on the Public Vote.? However this issue at Eurovision could now work in his favour in his quest to acquire the coveted number 1 Christmas record as he has gone on record craving some anti-democratic support from the public by asking his fans to download his Christmas recording as many times as possible.? This highlights my concern. Sadly, we no longer live in the Hughie Green approach to voting.? Hughie’s famous strap-line on Opportunity Knocks was ‘It’s Your Vote That Counts Folks’.? Sam Ryder’s request to his fans , in my opinion, provides strong evidence that there is multiple voting behind all competitions, whether you watch I’m a Celebrity, Strictly Come Dancing or X Factor and dare I throw into the mix The BBC Sports Personality of the Year.? However, there does not appear to be any way of stopping this issue.? The genie is out of the bottle and technology is winning the day over democracy whether we like it or not.? In the real world of public voting – General Elections perhaps excepted - the cream is less likely to float to the top and especially so where the general public make the final choice because, whether we agree or not, multiple voting is capable of throwing the case for democracy to the wolves.

How Can I Be Sure that Sam Ryder will beat Wham to the Number One Christmas Album.? I can’t be sure.? However, we will all know tomorrow morning which is why I am publishing this article tonight (21/12/2023) and if he does achieve the Number One slot it will just confirm my opinion that multiple voting is rife across all competitions and that it is not just rife behind the UK’s Christmas Number One.? It could indeed be argued that this year’s BBC Sports Personality was heavily influenced by multiple voting but I will let you decide.? Rest assured that a detailed breakdown of voting will never be published.?

However, don’t shoot the messenger. I am only throwing some stones into the pond to debate.