As Parliament prepares to debate whether MPs should have second jobs, Julian Huppert has written on the controversy surrounding Jack Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind for the Guardian.
He attacks what he calls an “abhorrent” and “unacceptable” aspect of our political culture and sets out why he thinks there should be more regulation of MPs’ outside interests.
Many of us work night and day to get through our work. We find it is the equivalent of having two full-time jobs – one in Westminster and one in the constituency.
But there are just far too many who don’t behave that way. They’ve been here so long a sense of duty morphs into one of entitlement. They get caught up with the pomp and ceremony, allowing the link between the public and their parliamentary role to unravel.
At the crux of this failure is our electoral system. Safe seats generate complacency. They give many MPs the opportunity to sit back, knowing they’ll get re-elected again and again. And it is often in safe seats where some MPs find they have enough time to take on two jobs. Suddenly they believe they don’t need to respond to casework or do the work in parliament. They are above all that – and why shouldn’t they earn £5,000 a day at the end of their careers?
David S Even if one's conclusion after examining all the complexities of the Civil War (which is a good deal more than "monarchy vs. democracy") is that Cromwell was a ...
Pawel Urbanski Much-needed piece. You are right that young people are the audience, but I am not sure Europe is the way in. The polling you quote shows they already agree with...
Pawel Urbanski Strong argument, and I agree with the direction. A couple of thoughts from someone who runs small shops. For me, deadweight loss is not a foreign concept. It is...
Truthspeak Of course ,it should be gotten rid of. Cromwell was a tyrant, a brute and a disgrace for any nation,in any age. The articlee excellently covered the full breadt...
Jeff Jana 6th Nov '26 - 6:23pm:
Meanwhile, Germany was at 4.2% in June 2016, and now sits at 6.4%.
And expected to rise further…
‘German emp...
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David S 
Pawel Urbanski 
Truthspeak 
Jeff 