MPs Show the Way
For once MPs are leading by example - putting their money where their mouths are - by cutting the number of MPs at Westminster from 650 to 600.
Now few people will shed any tears at the loss of 50 MPs - and apart from cutting the cost of politics - the aim of the change is to 'equalise' the size of MPs' constituencies across the country.
But just imagine if this issue involved Unite, the union.
No doubt there'd be a great wailing and a gnashing of teeth - about the terrible unfairness of it all - and that the government should be investing in our democratic institutions and spendingit way out of trouble - instead of imposing an ideologically driven cuts agenda.
And what a load of old tosh that would be - because reducing the number of MPs to 600 is not any kind of threat to our democracy.
If anything 600 MPs is still too many - and there's another 800 'parliamentarians' next door in the House of Lords - which deserves to be cut down to size too.
So I say well done to the government.
What they're doing doesn't go nearly far enough - but it's a start - and one that will be warmly welcomed by most sensible people.
Now few people will shed any tears at the loss of 50 MPs - and apart from cutting the cost of politics - the aim of the change is to 'equalise' the size of MPs' constituencies across the country.
But just imagine if this issue involved Unite, the union.
No doubt there'd be a great wailing and a gnashing of teeth - about the terrible unfairness of it all - and that the government should be investing in our democratic institutions and spendingit way out of trouble - instead of imposing an ideologically driven cuts agenda.
And what a load of old tosh that would be - because reducing the number of MPs to 600 is not any kind of threat to our democracy.
If anything 600 MPs is still too many - and there's another 800 'parliamentarians' next door in the House of Lords - which deserves to be cut down to size too.
So I say well done to the government.
What they're doing doesn't go nearly far enough - but it's a start - and one that will be warmly welcomed by most sensible people.
