The Rise and Fall of the Career Politician

There have been many slings and arrows aimed at politicians in Britain recently, some unjustly but many with legitimate justification. The exposition of MP's expenses and the usurping of the Michael Martian, the House of Commons' Speaker, has resulted in a rightful perception that most politicians have their proverbial snouts in the expenses trough.

However, for all the moat cleaning, mock Tudor beam installing and HobNob eating MPs, the expenses issue has distracted public gaze form a more serious, underlying problem - the rise of a very slippery beast - the 'Career Politician'.

The 'Career Politician' can be identified in a number of ways:

• Being planted into a constituency that they have very little knowledge of or affiliation with.
  
• Always voting with their Party, even when their conscience dictates otherwise.
• Asking questions in PMQs that are specifically designed to deflect attention away from more important issues.
• Complaining that the MPs salary is not adequate, whilst claiming the full expenses amount.
• And, most importantly, standing for election as a career move as opposed to a genuine belief that they can legitimately attempt to improve their constituency by their candidature.

The 'Career Politician' adds very little to the democratic political process in the UK today, by continually following the party whip they are depriving their electorate of true representation. Since MPs in government will often vote according to party policies as opposed to what ultimately in the interest of their constituency.

It maybe wishful to think that politicians will run for Parliament as individuals, rather than a political Party product, but it is a shame that more people can name and recognise the perennial backbencher Dennis Skinner than the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions James Purnell. Parliament as an institution is only as strong as its current occupants, which is why it is too readily perceived as weak and ineffectual in this current climate. The 'Career Politician' is in danger of disenfranchising whole sections of the population by becoming 'faceless' advocates of a Parliamentary system that few trust.

It is too simple to get misty eyed at the Parliaments of the past, the firebrand speeches, the presence of characters and ideology, but this system was deeply flawed too. The Parliamentary system lacked any genuine representation or transparency and corruption was rife, this is not a system that would attract too many advocates in this present time.

Therefore it is to the future that people should look, a system developed around the concept of a fair wage for all MPs with transparent (albeit minimal) expense account, set by a independent authority. Furthermore, it is vital that to curtail the rise of the 'Career Politician' that the local party in the constituency decides the Parliamentary candidate independently of the national party. This will hopefully allow the MP to become more representative of their constituency and signal the end of the 'Career Politician'.