ABSTRACT
We know so much more now about what affects our lives in this country than we did only a few years ago. We can watch parliamentary debates on the television and listen to them on the radio. We can see politicians, civil servants and leading professionals being grilled by aggressive interviewers ± a Home Secretary being asked the identical question seventeen times in succession. We can demand to see our medical records, read the ingredients on a packet of food, compare the different performances of schools, colleges and universities in public examinations. If all else fails (and if we have the time), we can search millions of websites on the Internet. And, of course, if we want other people to know what is happening to us, and what we think about it, we can publish it in just a matter of minutes.
