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A Plague on Both Your Houses
6th July 2009
Sean Wyer, commenting on my article of June 5th 2009, states that the exposure of MPs’ expenses has been nothing more than a “petty tirade” in which we, “the apathetic, ill-informed” public have been overly cynical, writes Shae Courtney.
One must ask oneself, whether Sean himself is a politician out to simply feather his own nest. For what Wyer is proposing amounts to a censoring of the press in a nation with already enough restrictions on civil liberties. Whatever the public thinks about The Daily Telegraph’s reporting of the expenses scandal, which is suspect even by my standards, it is wholly wrong to even hint at the press being censored.
Secondly, Wyer attributes the atmosphere of “anti-politics” mainly to the poor reporting of the expenses scandal. It is not simply the expenses scandal that has led to this culture of unfashionable politics, but the background from which MPs are pulled. By and large, those who represent us in the House of Commons are white, middle class and male. Even twenty years ago there was more diversity in terms of background than there is today. A problem of today’s politics is that MPs are not a microcosm of the nation. Tories are as similar as Labourites and the Lib Dems and vice versa: there is almost no difference in the social background from which MPs in the three main parties come from. It is my argument that this poor representation has led to the disengagement with politics.
Lastly, Wyer has claimed that the exposure of MPs’ expenses has not been an “exercise in people power” as was suggested by myself. Instead, Wyer suggests that the damage caused to politics has been a result of “political ignorance” and an ill-informed society. Anyone should concede that damage has, of course, been caused to British politics. Surely, however, the advantages of a transparent system (like what we will have from now forward) outweigh the disadvantages of damaged, but not irreparable, politics. Moreover, the damage that has been caused to politics and is overestimated by Wyer, will encourage the leaders of all parties to sort the system out quickly. A small amount of political pain is far better than the continuing fraudulent activities of many MPs.
As always, The Student Voice welcomes any contributions from students.
One must ask oneself, whether Sean himself is a politician out to simply feather his own nest. For what Wyer is proposing amounts to a censoring of the press in a nation with already enough restrictions on civil liberties. Whatever the public thinks about The Daily Telegraph’s reporting of the expenses scandal, which is suspect even by my standards, it is wholly wrong to even hint at the press being censored.
Secondly, Wyer attributes the atmosphere of “anti-politics” mainly to the poor reporting of the expenses scandal. It is not simply the expenses scandal that has led to this culture of unfashionable politics, but the background from which MPs are pulled. By and large, those who represent us in the House of Commons are white, middle class and male. Even twenty years ago there was more diversity in terms of background than there is today. A problem of today’s politics is that MPs are not a microcosm of the nation. Tories are as similar as Labourites and the Lib Dems and vice versa: there is almost no difference in the social background from which MPs in the three main parties come from. It is my argument that this poor representation has led to the disengagement with politics.
Lastly, Wyer has claimed that the exposure of MPs’ expenses has not been an “exercise in people power” as was suggested by myself. Instead, Wyer suggests that the damage caused to politics has been a result of “political ignorance” and an ill-informed society. Anyone should concede that damage has, of course, been caused to British politics. Surely, however, the advantages of a transparent system (like what we will have from now forward) outweigh the disadvantages of damaged, but not irreparable, politics. Moreover, the damage that has been caused to politics and is overestimated by Wyer, will encourage the leaders of all parties to sort the system out quickly. A small amount of political pain is far better than the continuing fraudulent activities of many MPs.
As always, The Student Voice welcomes any contributions from students.