I feel sorry for MPs

[SV650rules]

Originally Posted by Seeker

I don't know if you have tried emailing your MP. I should point out that I live in an area that is Conservative and is unlikely to ever change. Cleethorpes is grouped in with a mainly farming community and they always vote Tory so I've had the same MP for a while.
In the early days when I would email asking him to vote in a certain way, he would respond to maybe 1 in 10 emails usually long after the vote and always with the government. At that time I was emailing once a month. Since I called all Tories "untrustworthy", he informed me that he would no longer respond unless I wanted something doing - an unlikely scenario since he has never agreed with any of my emails (except the GKN takeover but he voted with the party anyway - so much for ethics!).

Prior to the "cutoff" I challenged him on privatisation (the East Coast mainline had been brought back into government ownership again and was making a profit but was being franchised out again - and that later failed). I challenged him on austerity telling him that money was cheap (to borrow) use it to repair the crumbling infrastructure - at least we would have something to show for it (something that BoZo was talking about before covid). I asked him to protect vital companies - he said they couldn't, although they are now talking about it.

Since I no longer get a response and rather than shout at the tv, I've upped my game. I have emailed him 25 times in the last month usually pointing out the incompetence of the government. It's cathartic for me - he collects his money but does nothing (I asked him for one thing he'd done to benefit the area - when he was still talking - I'm still waiting). I have a very low opinion of MPs and an equally low opinion of Eton that is supposed to provide us with leaders. They really should be teaching ethics.

So, do they earn their money and deserve a rise? Absolutely not. Pay by results. This virus has proven how inept they are and how unwilling to take responsibility for their mistakes.

If you want to get an answer from your MP send them a letter, emails get ignored by everyone these days not just MP's - for the same reason those online petitions mean zilch to the average MP - they are just too easy to do, one click of a mouse and your MP is supposed to fall over to do the bidding ? In these days emails are just considered spam, If you want to get anything moving a letter is the way to go, it shows you are at least a bit serious about things - I sent emails to my ISP, posted stuff on their online forum - nothing - sent a letter to their customer services at head office with my email address and phone number and next day had a phone call and an email saying a case had been opened and within a week had a refund and better speed.

[Bike27]

Originally Posted by Seeker

So, do they earn their money and deserve a rise? Absolutely not.

On the other hand........

https://www.google.com/amp/s/news.sk...itics-11489543

The fact that trying to become an MP is already a huge mountain to climb for 'ordinary' people of average means (and trying to remain an MP also a relatively precarious goal) probably helps explain why you end up with one of the two main political parties lead for a decade by out of touch fools such as Ed "Edstone" Miliband and Jeremy "Free Broadband" Corbyn.

If we want politicians that understand the concerns of the 'man in the street' I don't see how paying them less or putting them under even yet more scrutiny (through a payment by results system that sounds a nice idea in theory but pretty unworkable in practice) would help.

Just sounds like a recipe for increasing the number of "out of touch millionaire" MPs to me.

[SV650rules]

@Bike27, I agree, we are following the American path where you need to be rich to go into politics - and it is not a good thing. We are woefully short on conviction politicians though, for some it is just a day job and they will happily swap parties without a twinge of conscience.

Labour long ago ceased to be the party of the working man - they became the party of the metropolitan London based elite,, I just took traditional labour voters a long time to realise it - and a lot of them did in December 2019...

[Bibio]

Originally Posted by Seeker

Since I no longer get a response and rather than shout at the tv, I've upped my game. I have emailed him 25 times in the last month usually pointing out the incompetence of the government.

maybe you should take a chill pill

[Bike27]

Originally Posted by SV650rules

@Bike27, I agree........

Thought you might, as 16 MPs are better value for the taxpayer than one Zoe Ball, IMO.

[Balky001]

I wouldn't want to be an MP, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. Plus any enthusiasm you have of going in to Parliament to make the country better and fairer soon dissipates when the whip/party pulls rank.

[keith_d]

Originally Posted by Seeker

One last comment (I promise). This is the voting record of my MP:
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/24...ethorpes/votes

It would be more helpful to know how many of these votes were not along party lines. Unfortunately, our MPs don't seem to have much say in which way they're going to vote - it's all decided behind closed doors in party central office and enforced by the whips.

Occasionally you get an MP who will defy the whips on a point of principle or to protest something which affects their constituents. But these days they don't last long. Either resigning or being de-selected.

[Bibio]

i have had the opposite of what Seeker has had. a good few years ago i complained about the condition of a mental health facility here in kirkcaldy. it was a outdated stinking, run down hell hole and not the kind of environment one would want to put mentally ill patients in. think of a pub from the 70's that has never had a lick of paint with sticky carpets and fag reek.

within two months the facility had a full revamp.

how this was done was due to emailing the correct MP's and heads involved to get them to liaison and come to a solution. they had no idea that the facility was so run down.

BTW it was not me who was admitted to the facility.

sometimes your local MP does care but sometimes there is nothing that they can do or its not their department. if you want answers then arrange for a slot at one of their surgery's.