I think the public demands for a general election are not properly thought out. Not because people should not have the right to make their feelings known at the ballot box, but because the way politics works means that an election doesn't properly provide the opportunity to do so. I think the demands from current MPs for a general election are very carefully thought out – a cheap attempt to preserve themselves in positions of power, or obviously to change the balance of power in the Commons.Obviously the clamours for an immediate general election are prompted by the ongoing expenses scandal, but what this scandal has proven beyond almost any doubt is that those implicated are simply not worthy of public office, are not of a mindset that makes them capable of representing the interests of the people they have been ripping off, and are not likely to become any less villainous as a result of the exposure they've now received.The individuals concerned are wholly to blame; no matter how many times they blame the expenses system they created to fund their corrupt behaviour. Yet the electoral system is not likely to offer the general population any relief from these people or those like them.Engagement in and awareness of politics is woefully low in this country. Regardless of what is actually written on a ballot paper, generally voters vote for a party and not for individuals. Or often they vote tactically against a party they'd prefer not to win. Most of us must admit to doing this, I am sure. Generally (always?) candidates are chosen by their parties, not by those who vote for them (or their party) in a general election. So ultimately MPs are chosen by the parties they are members of.Given the partisan way in which people vote, it is all too easy for those shown to be corrupt to somehow retain their position if they are not forced to stand down by their party leaders or local constituency party. All they need to do is stand again for election, and hope that because voters generally vote tactically for parties, they will be returned to office, and simultaneously will doubtless see this as exoneration from their public. Yes, they stand a chance of being voted out, but many will see it as worth the gamble, and it’s clear that party leaders are being very selective when it comes to who will fall ahead of any election.So I believe that a general election can only begin to be part of a solution if every single MP who has been found to have made a claim that is clearly abusive is first told that they will not be allowed to stand as a candidate for their party in that election. Across the board, and with no exceptions. Regardless of whether they have sought to absolve themselves by paying back the money they dishonestly profited from. Throw them all out, with no mercy. Again, fixing the expenses system that has been abused, which abuse has prompted the calls for an election, will not improve anything unless those people whose lack of morals led them personally to abuse are flushed out. Let them stand as independents if they believe their electorate has forgiven them.We are then presented with a further problem - who will stand in their place? Will they be trustworthy, and importantly, will they be competent?
Max Duley ● 6339d