Back in December, the editor of the Independent wrote a leader entitled Our view of MPs has been tested to breaking point.
In it, he said:
Over the past few parliaments, the reputation of our MPs has taken a battering. The sleazy 1990s were followed by the Iraq War, launched on shoddy intelligence, and against which a million of us marched, to no avail.
Then in quick succession came an expenses crisis which showed many politicians stealing from the public purse, and a financial crisis which wasn’t caused by the poor, but for which they picked up the bill.
And in all that time this newspaper has resisted the caricature of our political class as a bunch of grubby apparatchiks on the take. We believe very strongly in democracy, and reckon that for all its failings, Britain’s democracy is relatively free of corruption. We’ve also argued that though Westminster has its share of crooks, many if not most MPs are decent, industrious, public-spirited types who could get paid better elsewhere.
And so he went on.
This week's news was that the former Head of Civil Service who might arguably have an axe to grind but equally might just know more about MPs than the rest of us, said: Ministers don't get reality of life. He went on: few politicians have any idea what life is like for people living on benefits and criticised those who argued We send our children to private schools, we have private healthcare, we travel by car or chauffeur, we don't go on public transport.
He went on to suggest that ministers should have done jobs like the population they're serving.
Locally, activists who want to change the system argue that they will note vote as the whole system is rotten. Is it surprising when they feel their MPs are as far removed as this. Not that they have any idea what system they do want of course.
We continue to live in difficult and unpleasant times.
