Sir Patrick Cormack comes to the point!

Whilst the Daily Mail keeps the kettles and coffee pots at raging boiling point in the serenity of surburbia, with its moral outrage at MPs expenses (they didn't get the scoop!), it is up to MPs to defend us against our democracy becoming a political forum for the wrong sort.

Sir Patrick Cormack rightly says, in defending Alan Duncan's central message, "We don't want a parliament of political anoraks and rich people. Those who have a vocation for public life shouldn't be deterred from going into parliament because they can't afford to contemplate it. Being an MP is an extremely expensive business." David Cameron, probably sensing that the majority of Conservative MPs and others agree with this, is not going to sack Duncan. It was the secret filming by Heydon Prowse that started this re-ignition of interest in Alan Duncan.

Ask yourselves this question. Do I want Heydon Prowse (pictured) as my next MP? A whole chamber made up of his type and we will all be secretly filmed, told what to do and given our marching orders! Baby out with the bath water, eh? Prowse runs an online business called Don't Panic. Nice title, but I think we should all panic at the very thought of him and democracy mixing.

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Alan Duncan says sorry for something!

Alan Duncan has got himself into a spot of bother. He has been caught out on tape saying some things some people think he ought not to have said. He was heard to say MPs were being treated badly after the expenses scandal and "have to live on rations". David Cameron, his leader, was none too happy.

Whilst I deplored Duncan's original approach to the expenses scandal, I do think he has a point much overlooked by his well-to-do wisteria claiming leader. That is, if MPs are to be just a load of salaried hacks, most of them emanating from behind the desks of quangos, research departments and think tanks, we are all going to be a damn sight worse off. No more farmers, no more business people, no more doctors, scientists or the like. Just professional politicians or those with independent means.

Alan Duncan said, "No one who's done anything in the outside world or is capable of doing such a thing will ever come into this place ever again the way we're going. Basically it has been nationalised. You have to live on rations and you are treated like shit." I think his crime was not that he said it but that he thought it. However, now that he's said it (and it is probably true in large part if everyone was truthful to themselves) only those like the recent winner at Norwich North will want to stay chirpy and chippy and reading from the script.

When I first studied politics, after the 1964 general election, there were all sorts of characters as MPs. Maybe after the next election we will have all sorts of characterless people representing us. I really do hope that that is not the case. Alan Duncan is a character and the sort of MP we need.

As a side issue, the news channels suggested Duncan used foul language. The BBC in particular sounds rather hypocritical. Most programmes get the message before they start - "the following programme contains strong language". In all this expenses business there are far more hypocrites that paragons of virtue!

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Do I want to choose a Labour candidate?

David Miliband is very keen to follow the Conservative primary event in Totnes, where a GP got voted in over two Tory stalwarts. Miliband is not elaborating much, other to sight the US Democrats and the Greek Socialists.

I thought about the Totnes vote, but my mind boggles a bit at voting for a socialist in a Labour Primary. I've never voted Labour in my life. First they were seen as fellow travellers of the communists and not a very patriotic bunch. Now they've turned all New Labour and are still not a very patriotic bunch. But this time they are demolishing the institutions from within.

I know there are some good Labour politicians. But I'd have a hard time knowing who to vote for in a primary. Should I vote for people who are hardly Labour at all? Or should I do it just because it is a civic duty? If I was asked to vote for a radical lefty just to balance the ticket, could I do it? Should I do it?

This is going to be a hard challenge for every conservative-minded voter in the country. We may have to be halucinated before casting a vote!

DryBonesBlog.com

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