Quote:
Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington
What many peole fail to realise is that there is a huge difference between local politics and national politics....much of the difference is to do with scale and ego's.
What I mean by that( and you have referred to it yourself Ken) is that the ego trip of being a local councillor is nothing like that of being an MP(although in my book, an MP is the servant of his constituents rather than the banner he stands under - constituents should always be his/her first priority)...you will always get some people who are in it for what they can do for themselves, but this is less evident in Local politics....and the expenses of national politics are bigger so, again open to abuse by those unscrupulous ones.
In both situations we have the power in our hands.......Know who you are giving your vote to..if you don't like the things they have been up to, then don't vote for them.
|
Eloquently put, as always.
I think what I should have been more clear about is that being an MP is very much a full time job and every waking hour becomes devoted to community work. Although this is largely true of Councillors it is not a salary that you could hope to live off solely and you do at least get to go home every night and switch off when you want to. This is not true of an MP and your life is very much not your own anymore. You put your life on hold for five years and pray that you keep getting re-elected or else you really are back to the dole queue. In the wake of recent expenses scandals and the public demanding to know what their representatives are getting out of them this is much harder now, I feel.
Essentially, for a continued life as an MP these days you really have to prove your worth.