Westminster has two “houses” that allow the 733 Lords, 746 “Lifers” and 646 MPs to engage in debate, which ultimately shapes our lives in Britain . The houses are not actually houses, of course. They are in fact debating chambers, which are designed to permit MPs and Lords to argue, discuss and deliberate over the matters that affect us.
The Houses are staffed by an additional 1,700 employees supporting the Members and committees. Each member also has their own staff – paid for out of the generous allowances that the taxpayers provide and which is so freely abused by the likes of Derek Conway.
This infrastructure is then repeated for each council, mayoralty, European, Welsh or Scottish constituent. Plenty of room and opportunity for chat for our elected representatives of various flavours.
Why therefore does the letters page of The Times invariably contain a letter or two from an MP, councillor or mayor, typically addressed to a different MP, councillor or mayor? Last week there was a letter in The Times from Charles Clarke (Frank Dobson in a Shrek costume), complaining about the backstabbing attitudes of fellow MPs towards their beleaguered leader. Couldn’t he have taken the matter up in the House of Commons?
London ’s mayor is a regular contributor to the letters page, obviously feeling that he doesn’t have enough airtime or column inches already. He wrote to The Times, complaining that there aren’t enough black, Jewish or Muslim cab drivers. If he is so concerned, doesn’t he have a staff of 105,000 or so that could debate the issue, consult on it and then let him unilaterally decide what to do? What is getting his name in print going to achieve?
Two days to save London.
