If we bar politicians from lining their pockets in office we might trust them more Kevin McKenna
over 5 years in The guardian
Shame made Ruth Davidson turn down a consultancy job, but voters shouldn’t have to rely on that
Britain’s electorate, having been tutored in the ways of open democracy and parliamentary accountability for longer than most, is regarded as sophisticated. We will hear the encomium “the voters are our real employers” many times over the course of this election. It suggests we are wise to the ways of our elected representatives and that we seem to possess a sixth sense for knowing when the time has come for change. Yet, in so many other ways, we are as easily reassured as a child hoping to find silver under the pillow where a tooth used to be.
We fondly believe our MPs are beyond the reach of corporate wealth and that the interests of their constituents, or at least what they think are those of the country, always come first. But what do we imagine those Conservative party dinners at £100,000-a-pop are really for? Do we ever dwell on what fuels the lobbying industry? Has the concept of one-person-one-vote ever been a reality? Continue reading...
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