Sunday 28 November 2010

do MP's get into politics for the right reasons ?

Here i am again wiwht another blogpost. This time i am going to outline my thoughts and feelings on this current crop of MP's who are in parliament. This is not a attack on any party of MP's in particular but in MP's in general.

Not one to generalise but i ahve noticed over recent years the last 10 or more more and more polititians coming into politics for their own self interests.

What disapoints me sometimes is there are fewer and fewer polititians coming into politics with a message. Very few actually stand for something clear and exact. Alot just like to appeal to the mass's sit on their huge majoritys and live a good life off it all.

If i was to ever gain a position of power from a election i would want to do something with it. Make a difference in the world. I would want to change things for the better, make the placea fairer world.

People like Caroline Lucas of the Green party is one example who stands for something. She is not afraid to tell things how it is. She spoke excellently at the new economics foundation event i attended in october titled where has all our money gone.

She spoke with real purpose and belief. Gone are the days of MP's like Tony Benn who wore his heart on his sleave, won alot of support for sticking to his beliefs and values. He was one of the people i'd say were in politics for the right reasons. His legacy as a result will live on.

But far too many polititians come and go and you do not remember them. THis is to do with them having no profile little public image and saying very little.

It is a wonder how these people ever do get elected sometimes as they are hardly well known and if you asked people in their areas what do they stand for and why are they standing for your votes few people could tell you i am sure.

I do think if any reform is to be made of politics there should be less and less career polititians in the commons just there picking up their wages and having a cushty life. What MP's often forget they are their to serve us and need to listen to us and not just shut yourself away and never approach the public. After all we are the people who elect you.

It would be great if more real people could get into politics and more people from the streets who are ordinary and live ordinary lives.

Perhaps when that starts to happen and real peoples views started getting heard rather than people who have always been acedemic going through uni and striaght into westminster having no life experience.

I am a big advecote of people in power gaining proper life experience before taking on powerful jobs and roles in the country. To mainly keep them grounded but to give them a sense of normality and reality.

So i do hope as politics changes and modernises itself that more ordinary peoples views are heard and listened to.

3 comments:

  1. I am completely the same with this; many new MPs are just there because they did the right thing at the right time to the right person in their affiliated party.

    I think that Caroline Lucas is doing an excellent job, and I really do think she can make a difference even if she is the only Green MP in the HoC.

    I would like to see principles and wanting to achieve something within Parliament, instead of politicians becoming drones of the Whips!

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  2. I think I read somewhere that after WW2 when the NHS was being brought together the number of MPs in the Labour Party that could be counted as 'working class' stood at around 60%. I believe that figure is now somewhat insignificant.

    What it does show is that politics has become a career choice and MPs are now 'professional politicians'. Look at how people now become parliamentary candidates and you tend to see a progression through interns or assistants followed by a parachute into a 'safe seat' once the party hierarchy have decided you fit the bill.

    Without some serious changes to the system we'll never get back to where a party is representative of the people. Currently MPs are representative of, well, MPs. Professional, well networked, career minded and always looking to make a few bob.

    I'd make MPs accept a salary equal to the average wage, pension provisions like the rest of us and no jobs on the side like directorships and all that. Maybe then we'd have a representative parliamentary democracy.

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  3. i agree chris, i think if MP's got a salary and c ould not claim expenses it would be better i think. Thats astounding that over 60 % of labour MP's after the war were of a working class background, its a real shame you struggle to find one now in amoungst a lot of oxbridge graduates.

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