I’m not surprised the polls suggest that voters think all MPs are wasters, crooks and liars – but if parliament loses voters’ trust, democracy is in danger, writes Chris Bryant
Parliament is in trouble. Twenty-two MPs have been suspended for a day or more or resigned before they were removed since the last election in December 2019.
That makes this the worst parliament on record. There’s been plenty to wind you up. There’s the name-calling and argy-bargy every week at Prime Minister’s Questions. Or Boris Johnson’s lies about what went on in Downing Street â and his lies about his lies. Or the former Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson peddling influence round parliament on behalf of his clients who were paying him more than £100,000 a year.
Or the special VIP lane for multimillion pound PPE contracts for MPs’ and ministers’ mates. Or MPs bullying staff and engaging in sexual behaviour. Or the fact some people seem to think there’s one set of rules for them and another for the rest of us. And then there’s Nadine Dorries.
First she says she’s so furious that she’s been blocked for a seat for life in the Lords â which she seems to think is her god-given right â that she’s resigning as an MP “with immediate effect”. But she hangs on for months. She continues to take a parliamentary salary for her and her two daughters. She has time to present a TV show, but no time to turn up to speak in parliament for more than a year.