On Beeing Reasonable

It’s no fun really.

Being a back bench MP,

Not much better being a Shadow Minister.

You spend the best years of your life waiting for something to turn up. That something being ‘Power’. In order to get ‘Power’ it becomes necessary to craft your life around a mythical entity which endlessly plays out a sort of fantasy around a gut theme of glory postponed.

Your default personality becomes at once enslaved to a grotesque caricature of a charming. sensible, feet on the ground sort of everyguy who is approachable but who gets things done. Who is there, even when he’s not, who is a doughty defender of the deserving constituents.

It is a fact of political life that the constituent always deserves better. One isn’t sure whether this is because of being a constituent per se or whether there is somewhere in the bowels of Westminster a very large moral balance sheet where deservedness is measured to be recorded and later rewarded.

If those records went missing on a computer stick or a bunch of discs, the moral compass of the nation could be thrown into doubt. Never mind identity theft, this could be really disastrous.

The MPs lot was neatly demonstrated through the pages of the Observer this weekend.

MP was invited to a Beekeeper’s Bash. It might have been the birthday of the association or a changing of the Guard at Sutton Beekeepers HQ or the QueenBee awards for 2007, No matter. He was there. And photo was taken. And quote provided.

There is, actually, a current problem with the Bees. They keep dying and the Beekeepers wish they wouldn’t. And it might well affect the planet though it probably won’t. It wasn’t absolutely clear why the MP for Sutton Coldfield was thought to be the man who could sort this out. His record of previous involvement in matters Bee is not unknown but certainly not vigorous.

Nevertheless, natural alliance emerges between distraught Society of Keepers of Bees and Approachable Shadow Minister. Society gets a piece in the paper, MP is seen to be Concerned. Statement is released saying ‘Government must do something’. Watch the Birdie, bish bash bosh. Next one please.

Which is a reasonable enough way to earn a living, I suppose. Beats work.

Except the ingrained culture of jumping through hoops like this surely get in the way of legislators paid handsomely to take society forward.

And while this Blog is not against the humble Bee (sic), this weekly pantomime of pretence and posturing and preening is at very least undignified.

And by threatening or diminishing the reputation of the elected MP, it surely demeans us the constituents.

We deserve better.


Nightwatchman