Alex Massie Alex Massie

Sod the Public: We Need Representatives, Not Delegates

I don’t mean to pick on David Kerr, the SNP’s candidate in the Glasgow North-East by-election, because, frankly, every single one of the candidates would say something like this:

“My commitment to the people of Glasgow North East is that I will always put them first. My priorities are their priorities.”

Really? Personally, I’d prefer it if an MP (or even a prospective MP) put his or her judgement first. I want MPs who will “stand up” (and vote) for what they think right, not merely follow the party line or pander to the presumed self-interest of their constituents. I want parliamentarians prepared to tell their electorate to take a hike, not MPs that act as though they’re suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. So I want them, on occasion, to treat the Whips’ Office with just as much disdain as I hope they will treat their constituents’ prejudices and preferences. I’d rather have men and women of independent mind “elected” from Rotten Boroughs than have Parliament be entirely subject to the whims and biases of the electorate. In other words, I want representatives, not delegates.

The accepted rules of politics, of course, demand that we think of these matters in a different fashion. The people must be respected and their views must be heard! Except, yes, we, the voters, will have our chance to render a verdict upon our MPs’ performance in due course and we may rightly judge them on their performance and, frequently, find it wanting.

But if all we ask them to do is reflect the narrow interests and peculiar preferences of the mob then we may fairly ask what is the point of them in the first place?

So I have some sympathy with Chris Dillow’s view:

But here’s the problem.

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