@fkamiah17 I do wonder how some of the lawyers on the Tory benches actually became lawyers. They don't seem to have the least understanding. Presumably they had the right friends.
Mind you, this may explain why they're not lawyers any more.
@ChrisMayLA6@fkamiah17 I suspect that's right. There's only so far that good connections will take them, before they hit the ceiling of their own incompetence. Politics really shouldn't be an alternative at that point. But clearly it is.
@RolloTreadway@ChrisMayLA6 It's been my view for some time now that you probably shouldn't be allowed to be an MP until you've had at least 10 years' experience working in the real world.
@fkamiah17@ChrisMayLA6 I would happily agree with that. I'd also introduce a limit of no more than one or two MPs at any time who went to the same school.
I wouldn't stop at PPE... pretty much anyone from Oxbridge should be barred - we need representatives not those who are sitting at the top of a pile already
@ChrisMayLA6@RolloTreadway I think that's quite extreme. I went to Cambridge and certainly don't "sit at the top of the pile". It certainly shouldn't be - as it is now - a kind of VIP lane into Westminster. They should be treated like every other candidate and selected on merit, as well as having an understanding of what "public service" actually entails. I think quotas from Oxbridge, at least for the time being, would be a good idea.
Ha ha, yes quotas would be fine.... as someone who has a degree & a masters from the OU, a Masters from a redbrick & a PhD from a post 92, and worked at a post 92, then a non-Russel Group (but 'top' university), I grind my teeth whenever I see Oxbridge over-represented in the realm of graduates (with various jobs).... apologies for the extremism - a quota is good 🙂
@ChrisMayLA6@RolloTreadway Over-representation is the key point there, I think. It grinds my gears too - there are plenty of people who worked their arses off to get there and deserve not to be lumped in with the Tristans and Henriettas.
My other degrees are from "normal" universities (Birkbeck and OU). I think the prestige of Oxbridge has too much weight, both within Parliament and wider society.
No apology needed for extremism - I totally understand it 😊
@ChrisMayLA6@fkamiah17 I've long held that the primary impact of repeated above-inflation pay rises for MPs, combined with the near limitless ability to make money from second jobs, has made politics significantly worse.
It's often held that more money attracts better candidates, but I would argue the opposite is true: it attracts greedy candidates who lack the skills for an equivalently beneficial career in other professions.
We need more low-paid workers to become MPs. More people with a broad range of everyday experience. And no more failed lawyers and financiers.
One thing that struck me with yesterday's enquiry hearing was when they were talking about free school meals, that it emerged (unsurprisingly) that nobody in the cabinet had any experience of free school meals either as a child or a parent. This is extremely harmful.
@RolloTreadway@ChrisMayLA6 There should be limited circumstances under which they can claiim for a second home and should definitely not be able to let other properties they own - particularly if those properties are in London - for profit. Staffing costs are a separate matter. There should be a proper HR within Parliament to prevent that being abused and to aid staff in reporting unacceptable behaviour. A minimum amount for claims should also be instituted - anything under, say £20 ...
2)
@RolloTreadway@ChrisMayLA6 Yes, I completely agree on the subject of MPs' salary, second jobs - which I think should be banned unless they're working in the public sector, or have to maintain CPD to continue in their professions post-Westminster.
I also think that what they can claim as expenses should be dramatically reduced and be on the same basis as those outside Westminster can claim.
1)
I'd add that high-paying lobbyist or board member jobs post-Westminster are a big issue, as it creates strong incentives for MPs to treat their time in government as merely an apprenticeship for the real thing.
@RolloTreadway@ChrisMayLA6
... should not be allowed.
I agree with your second point on candidates entirely. A corollary to that would be the closing of the "revolving door" between finance, Parliament and regulatory bodies, and the banning of "consultancy" work, particularly when it relates directly to your Ministerial role.
ends
Yes, I agree with all of that; the Q. is who would be the appointments committee if we went to a representative but application driven process? Citizen's juries i each constituency?
@ChrisMayLA6@fkamiah17 I would prefer to combine practical controls to promote diversity of background with an electoral system that allows voters to identify their preference amongst multiple candidates from the same party (such as STV).
By practical controls, I mean: a ban on second incomes; pay linked strictly to median incomes; a reasonable requirement for candidates to be local, not parachuted in; tightening the existing rules on post-Parliament jobs; limits on MPs going to the same schools/universities etc; greater support for lower-income people who wish to enter politics (a bursary currently exists, but it's not adequate); and perhaps a legal obligation for larger parties to select candidates from a representative mix of backgrounds, although I readily admit I don't know how that last bit would work in practice.
But I don't have a problem with constituency parties ultimately being able to choose their candidate. I just have a problem with national party leaderships insisting that constituency parties choose a very narrow mix of candidates.
@ChrisMayLA6@fkamiah17@RolloTreadway
This is perhaps getting away from the reality of the only bar to becoming an mp is whether you can suck up to the prejudices of the local constituency chair in a safe seat.
Also, I wouldn’t want to be throwing the Tam Dalyell baby out with the Theresa May bathwater …
@BashStKid@ChrisMayLA6@RolloTreadway
True, but the Tam Dalyell days are well and truly over (a cynic writes).
No process can be flawless but it certainly needs considerably more guardrails than it has at present.
@fkamiah17@ChrisMayLA6 Mind you, my MP - Guy Opperman, who's currently something or other at the DWP - was a genuinely good criminal barrister.
The experience hasn't made him a good MP. But I think that's because he's treated politics as semi-retirement, parachuted into a safe seat (he's not originally from anywhere around here), rather than anything resembling public service.
@RolloTreadway@ChrisMayLA6 There are always going to be exceptions to the rule in both senses - an experienced professional in any field doesn't necessarily make a good MP, or vice versa. That's why I think the selection process needs to be conducted by professional, non-party affiliated people in the first instance, to avoid these kind of pitfalls.
@selzero It's just another reinforcement of the opinion that, apart from blatant corruption, there really isn't that much else to differentiate Labour from the Tories.
Also, hello 👋😊
I was wondering when you'd pop up in my notifications. How you doing?
Slavery was legal. The potato famine was legal. The Holocaust was also legal.
Screw all of them.
I'm doing ok. The current zeitgeist has me feeling great, really. I feel like a hotshot Hollywood superstar at the peak of his game, namely, Michael Douglas in Falling Down.
@selzero Legality would be a poor excuse if it were legal. The Geneva Conventions didn't exist during either the Holocaust or the Potato Famine but they do now, which is what makes them illegal.
Totally understand the Michael Douglas reference. I can recommend a news blackout for a few days - I stepped away from it last week and it did my mental health the world of good.
Remember to take care of yourself, k? 🤗
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