The government managed to railroad the Lisbon Treaty through the House of Commons last night. Why? Because legions of low-grade MPs preferred to toady to their Whips, rather than vote the way their constituents wanted.
Watching the hoard of parasitical politicians flocking through the government lobby, it struck me; with the exception of a few Lib Dems in marginal seats, most of these MPs are able to treat the electorate with contempt only because they are voted in from "one party fiefdom" constituencies - the so-called "safe seats".
Imagine if the voters had a right of recall, open primaries to re-adopt all sitting MPs, a right of initiative and no taxpayer-funded political parties? Westminster politicians might start to actually take seriously the people they are supposed to serve. It’s not only policy towards the EU that would change …
