The good guys

Mar 21 2010 by Alan Ross

IN just a few weeks we will be up to our eyes in the stench – sorry – in the cut and thrust of healthy debate, as once again we get to put a cross on a ballot paper in order for our elected representatives to largely ignore what we think and, judging by some of the last lot, feather their nests while doing it.

Yes, we have to have a General Election this year, and some pundits are predicting that, due to the closeness of the polls, we may end up having TWO General Elections within a very short space of time. Let joy be unconfined!

But, among the party hacks, the witless and the venal, there are still MPs who put in a huge amount of time on behalf of their constituents. They tend to get tarred with the same brush as everyone else.

Some of our representatives do have principles. And as such they ought to attract support from people of all – and no – political persuasion, simply because they do their job conscientiously.

I’d always thought, for instance, that if I’d lived in Chesterfield, I would have happily voted for Tony Benn, though I would have disagreed with him on practically everything other than the EU. He was just a very good MP and a decent man.

I’d put Ashok Kumar, who died last week, firmly in that category. For a start, he’d had a life outside politics, being a respected scientist. He was a huge supporter of local causes, and the tributes that poured in for him this week from all over the political spectrum used the phrase "a doughty fighter for his constituency".

His constituents who work for Corus had clear evidence of that fighting spirit. He wasn’t a rebel, but he wasn’t a "yes" man either. He assessed every issue on the merits as he saw them. He will be genuinely missed.