The rise of the self-pitying MP
Cheer up, Westminster!
The House of Commons is designed to create conflict not consensus. Parliamentarians sit facing each other in the chamber and heckle. Coalitions are rare. Governments govern and oppositions oppose. Yet practically all mps agree on one thing, that being an mp is terrible. Speak to a parliamentarian for longer than a few minutes and the complaints will come fast: the pay is woeful, patronage trumps competence, constituency work is draining, online abuse is rife and mps are leaving in droves. The most powerful people in the country are now the most self-pitying.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Cheer up, Westminster!”
Britain July 22nd 2023
From the July 22nd 2023 edition
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