this is not about the crime drama underbelly screening on tv 3 later tonight...

Too true Keith, the reason democracy works is because whenever a democratic power is allocated, a check or balance is created to restrict it (we all know the rhetoric of Lord Acton and the fate of Socrates). The EFB is a utilitarian equation of whether further checks are needed on election powers, not whether or not such checks should exist. The debate has been fucked. National and their friends did their job too well and managed to frame the argument.