Horseshit: Turning Voters into Consumers

This week a leaflet dropped in my letterbox from a candidate in the upcoming Dublin Central Dáil by-election, expected May 22nd, 2026. It focused on a local issue: the illegal dumping of horse manure. It detailed the party’s efforts to hold the local area manager accountable through formal queries. On the surface, it’s exactly what you’d want—a representative showing concern for a local nuisance.

Yet, the leaflet smelled a little off.

Talking with a friend later, I realized what the problem was. The leaflet was consumerist and managerialist; it wasn’t political or participative in the way politics ought to be.

There was no attempt to connect the local mess to the systemic issues surrounding it. The Local Area “Manager” was its focal point and accountability was framed as a service request. There was no mention of the choices we have to make as citizens. For example, I’ve heard that this manure has become difficult to dispose of due to high drug content or the use of wood chips which prevents easy composting. Is that true? I’m not sure , but shouldn’t our political discourse lead us to those answers?

This raises deeper questions: How do we keep horses in our cities and across our country? Why must organizations like My Lovely Horse Rescue rely on donations while the state heavily subsidizes a horse industry that ranges from world-class standards to shocking cruelty.

Of course, one can imagine how the average voter would react if, after complaining about manure, a politician gave them a mini-lecture like the one I’ve just indulged in. Politicians are playing by the rules we’ve helped create; blaming them alone is just the other side of the same coin. In fact, this leaflet came from Daniel Ennis, a politician I respect, who alongside his Social Democrat colleagues, contributes enormously to the life of Dublin Central, even if Labour’s Ruth O’Dea is getting my Number 1.

So, what is to be done?

• Link the Local to the Universal: Politicians should, at the very least, link their local leaflets to broader policy papers. Show us how the manure on the street connects to the legislation in the Dáil.
• Encourage Discussion, Not Just Complaints: We need to move beyond “fixing” and toward “deciding.” The best politicians already facilitate this, but the bar for entry into politics is already so high and off-putting that we must be careful not expect those individuals to the change the conversation on their own.
• Ask Better Questions: As non-politicians, we need to ask about values. When a candidate knocks, we shouldn’t just hand them a to-do list of complaints. We should ask: what are your priorities? What hard choices do we need to make?

As someone who both canvasses and engages with those at my door, I realize I don’t do this often enough. Until we do, the horseshit is likely to persist.