Martin Kettle’s article (Britain is a country that looks to its parliament. And the truth is, parliament is failing us, 21 December) reminded me of a conversation that I had many years ago with a German MP, who was astonished by the existence of casework in Westminster. For her, officials fixed individual problems, parliamentarians shaped the system. And British MPs’ caseloads since then have grown exponentially, as a decade of austerity means there are few working systems left.
That’s a big problem, but so are the issues with quality and behaviour that Kettle identifies. Why do we have so many unsuitable people – and such an unrepresentative bunch? The answer is because voters are stuck with an undemocratic, dysfunctional model of government, produced by centuries of historical accident, with political philosophies and ideas that have failed to develop and grow to even understand the modern world.
As Kettle says, this is dangerous. It demands a total reshaping of our politics – proportional representation so parliament reflects the views of the people, genuine devolution of power and resources to local areas, and a ban on big political donations so we don’t get the politics the few pay for.
Natalie Bennett
Green party, House of Lords
• Martin Kettle’s comment that “MPs should spend less time on constituency work and more time on governing” reminded me of a story that my father, Arthur Palmer, then Labour MP for Cleveland, told of an encounter with the Labour politician Hugh Dalton, the MP for Bishop Auckland, on a train to the north in the late 1950s. “I wouldn’t go up to your constituency too often if I were you, Palmer,” Dalton said. “They’ll think you have nothing better to do.”
Sarah Palmer
West Malling, Kent
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