Immature politics

Published on 18/02/2013 00:00

I HAVE just listened to a political debating programme on the radio wherein politicians answer questions put by a live, local 
audience. The answers to the questions were without exception unreal and evasive.

I HAVE just listened to a political debating programme on the radio wherein politicians answer questions put by a live, local audience. The answers to the questions were without exception unreal and evasive.

The potted biographies of the politicians showed uniformity – each was from an upper middle-class “professional” family, bar one, and he had an upper-class, independently-wealthy background – and I suspect that each took the route of university, political “researcher” or adviser and candidate to the position they now hold. I am beginning to believe that the recruitment of MSPs and MPs from such a narrow band of relatively unworldly candidates is the root cause of dysfunction in government today, and certainly the reason that few voters believe a word that our representatives say.

It is imperative that the hold of this self-sustaining ruling class is broken – and the way to do that would be to amend election law to exclude the candidature of anyone who could not show a clear gap of ten years between the last day of their formal education (or role as a political assistant/
researcher) and their standing for a parliamentary seat.

It is time to choose our representatives from mature human beings who have experienced the real world outside the parliaments and debating chambers.

David Fiddimore

Nether Craigwell

Calton Road, Edinburgh