Is it me or do readers agree and think the new bunch of MPs are a pretty lacklustre lot? Admittedly, they have some real characters to follow, so perhaps I am being a little unfair to expect them to burst out of their bubbles so soon. But the trouble is, this country needs a solid debate about politics once again. The election took away tweedle-dum and tweedle-dee politics – now there is clear evidence of a chasm of difference between the two major parties.
The Liberals have always been a bit wishy washy, but you could usually count on Simon Hughes, Charles Kennedy or Lembit Opik to stir things up a bit. Of course now they’ve been silenced by their leadership and now they are all sitting on the green leather like good little Tory lapdogs, waiting for Tory Central Office to tell them when they can speak.
And it’s not as if the Tories are that much better. Remember Anne Widdicombe? Now if ever there was a right-wing bruiser it was her. Despise her if you will, loathe what she stood for, if you must – but ignore her at your peril. Anne was a truly formidable Tory MP and brought a certain vibrancy to the House of Commons. Sadly, many like her left in the last parliament and have been replaced by political lightweights likes of Jeffrey Lefroy. Who? Well, you wouldn’t be unique if you hadn’t heard of him – his presence in the House hasn’t been overly-significant.
Or what about Dan Byles, the new Tory MP for N. Warwickshire and Bedworth, who’s maiden speech was so scintillating that it even bored local Tories so much, they took it down from his website!
But for me, the weakest of the maiden speeches has to go to Ian Mearns, the Labour MP for Gateshead. Now, you would expect a solid area like Gateshead to produce a good working class lad, ready to fight oppression and injustice. Did we have a hint of the shape of things to come? No – we got ....
"She's a big lass and a bonny lass and she likes her beer.
And they call her Cushy Butterfield and ah wish she was here."
Hmmmm – I’ll bet that went down well in the local Labour Club amongst the politically hardened women of the North.
What we need to see in the House is oratory of the standard of Tony Benn, Jeremy Corbyn ... and dare I mention his name? Gordon Brown. These are the political heavyweights who are capable of taking on the likes of Cameron Osborne and Cable. The Tory front bench is pretty good; Cameron has been pretty good at the despatch box, but he has yet to have had a really devastating attack from Darling, Balls, Miliband or Abbott. George Osborne is very weak and can be picked off easily and it is really just a matter of time before he curls up and goes crying into the corner.
Let’s hope we have the talent in amongst our new crop of Labour MPs a sizable number who are capable of politically ripping out the Tory heart of this government
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