So who are the 'good' MPs?

Heartfeltdawn

It's why Private Eye still exists. The like of Guido Fawkes scoff at the old news format but PE does deliver parliamentary and political news in a pretty balanced manner. All of them, Guido, Spectator, New Statesman, they all have their moments. Pe's simply the least twizzled to one side for my tastes. 

Sad though it may be, I would recommend recording some of the things on BBC Parliament. Lots of the small features and round ups give you an idea of who is doing what and where. It's not trying to be entertaining like the Daily Politics. 

Snap

tbh, I'd struggle to find an MP I'd want to spend any time with. I think they are all (mostly) tossers who don't really have much of a clue about real life. Hardly any of them have had a job outside of poltitics, for any length of time. They don't live in the real world. They inhabit a world where nonsense ritual convention and ceremony rules:witness the arcane stupidity of PMs question time. Anyone with an ounce of normality would not bounce up and down in a seat waving a white paper around, like some demented halfwit on a trampette. Pillocks.

They are the sort of people who were presidents of the student's union, or ran societies and clubs: in other words, monumental stiffs, who didn't have any real mates.

Also, and much more importantly, they don't know how to dress well.

HAL9000

Another thing which makes me question the the honesty of MPs is the spin put onto things. Such as...

Mrs Thatcher announcing from time to time how many new beds the NHS had got that week. It later turned out that moving an old bed into a different ward would somehow cause it to become 'new'.

Mr Blair's '45 minute' dossier. He must have known.

Mr Cameron (IIRC) promising a standard £150ish a week pension for 'everyone'. Turns out that your first ten years of NI contributions only enables you to qualify for a pension. ie someone with nine years and eleven months gets precisely nothing whereas under the old scheme they'd have gotten nine thirty'ths. So leaving thousands worse off. Forgot to mention that did you Mr C?

Heartfeltdawn

MPs are dishonest and put spin onto things. But so does pretty much every company who sell you things. We're in a society built on spin and deceit, whether it's letting agents to MPs to the adverts on telly. 

Bridgehouse

I always thought Robin Cook had a decent moral compass and put country/the right thing before his career.

Snap

Heartfeltdawn said:

MPs are dishonest and put spin onto things. But so does pretty much every company who sell you things. We're in a society built on spin and deceit, whether it's letting agents to MPs to the adverts on telly. 

too right.

The world is generally full of shit. Most media items are hyped to the limit, and facts are very hard to come by. Its got to the point where I don't listen to, or watch news, and tbh read very little. It is mostly bullshit and opinion.

"snap election" - that is getting on my pip too. Why not call it an "election"?

Corbyn - not playing by "their" rules: ffs man, speak clearly. Everything has to be a soundbite or slogan, thin and glib.

and every stiff softarse politician starting every single bleeding sentence with "look....". I'll give you look sunshine. Don't get so lippy. If you started your setnences like that in a pub in most places you'd get the hard end of a clip for your aggressive gob.

aye, that'll learn em.

Corbyn though, he just makes me cringe. Sitting on his fat pile of cash, bit wedge of a pension, and playing the ordinary man card. My arse.

And all these pillocks who rattle on about "working class". Oh give me a break you chip on the shoulder melon: no such thing as working class, the term is irrelevant and is used as another weapon of prejudice.

Fretwired

Diane Abbott - she has done well for someone with no talent. She also plays the race card better than anyone else and seems to be made of Teflon as nothing ever sticks.

Heartfeltdawn

Fretwired said:

Diane Abbott - she has done well for someone with no talent. She also plays the race card better than anyone else and seems to be made of Teflon as nothing ever sticks.

She actually does have some ability. Her 2008 speech on civil liberties was an absolute winner and even the Spectator recognised this by giving her their speech of the year award. It's a shame she instead chooses to submerge the ability she does have in a load of incredibly wet and lame soundbites that have little to no impact. 

Ravenous

Bridgehouse said:

I always thought Robin Cook had a decent moral compass and put country/the right thing before his career.

I thought of suggesting him too, but thought I'd be accused of being a ginger beard hugging freak or something around here.

Donald Dewar too - hope people here still remember him...

Bridgehouse

Ravenous said:

Bridgehouse said:

I always thought Robin Cook had a decent moral compass and put country/the right thing before his career.

I thought of suggesting him too, but thought I'd be accused of being a ginger beard hugging freak or something around here.

Donald Dewar too - hope people here still remember him...

I'm not Gingerist. Some of my best friends are afflicted with the ginge. 

Plus, with Robin Cook you could see beyond it and realise he was just a bloody nice bloke.

Philly_Q

Bridgehouse said:

Ravenous said:

Bridgehouse said:

I always thought Robin Cook had a decent moral compass and put country/the right thing before his career.

I thought of suggesting him too, but thought I'd be accused of being a ginger beard hugging freak or something around here.

Donald Dewar too - hope people here still remember him...

I'm not Gingerist. Some of my best friends are afflicted with the ginge. 

Plus, with Robin Cook you could see beyond it and realise he was just a bloody nice bloke.

Love Rat though....

(Which was still a big deal in those days, nowadays MPs' private lives barely make the news.  Times have changed.)

ThePrettyDamned

He's a conservative, but my brother has had a lot of contact with him and despite being labour through and through, has nothing but utmost positivity and respect for Shailesh Vara. 

After writing to him to ask about the possibility of various cycle paths, he not only wrote back but immediately started working towards getting them. They are now in place, mostly, and very few stretches my brother mentioned were left out (and probably were for budget or practicality issues). 

Even when he's been unable to help, he's always gotten back in touch. That sort of thing goes a long, long way in this very cynical world.

shaunm

Tracy Brabin - Batley and Spen. 

Does a lot of good work and genuinely cares for the community around.

ICBM

I actually suspect the majority of MPs are fairly decent and hardworking - ie the ones we never normally hear of.

I doubt most people could name even 100 of the prominent ones, which still leaves over 500 who probably just get on and do their job.

But I may be feeling overly generous this morning .

duotone

One of the few who comes across well whenever I see him on TV is David Lammy (Tottenham)

Drew_TNBD

Threads like this make me realize something... I know way more about American politics than I do UK politics. This is not a good situation to be in.

Sambostar

robgilmo

I too think that the world is full of shit, I think MP's are money grabbing , lying arseholes and our government should be locked up, its not like we would have to look too deep for a reason. There is nothing democratic about our democracy, nothing fair about the way this country is run , nothing honest in politics and nothing good will ever come of it. The real problem is the people like you and me who sit back and allow ourselves to be conned in such an obvious manner. We think bent politicians get their punishment by having a scandal printed in the news papers, I have a better idea, how about putting them up in front of a judge? Oh fuck no, that's just not how it works. However if you or me ever swindled the tax payer or committed war crimes the same way these twats do they would throw away the key.  

ICBM

I have to admit that the choice we're currently presented with, at least at the top level, does sometimes make me wonder whether armed revolution might not be a better answer…

Watching those clips of Blair is quite worrying too - he's so incredibly falsely sincere in both of them. He looks like an estate agent, only less trustworthy. Did he really seem like the bright new hope after the dull old John Major? And I admit to voting Labour in '97 too.

Oddly enough Michael Foot comes over slightly better than I remembered. That appalling haircut was at least part of his un-appeal, I think.

MattBanshee

fftc said:

Flanging_Fred said:

fftc said:

Caroline Lucas.

For what reason? 

I'm politically pretty uneducated and I think it's time to do something about it.  I need something positive to look for not simply rejecting the stuff I don't like the sound of (which is MUCH easier).

She is honest, has the courage of her convictions and her convictions are not those of a self absorbed sociopath.

She's also completely clueless. 

20mph speed limits in Brighton led to almost immediate rush-hour gridlock (and hence increased carbon output, not reduced). She also wants formula milk for babies to be available on prescription only, presumably because she's a lunatic.