Politcians ?

[Zen]

Why nowadays do people become full time politicians ?
It can't be that they want to do something for the people they represent as they become swallowed up by the Party machine,so they do it to line their pockets or what?
Any MPs read this board?

[archbishop]

I know one full time politician on this site who would disagree with you. I'm sure he'll be along later.

[bernardo]

To serve the people, to liberate the proletariat from the oppressive bourgeois tyranny and stranglehold of the so-called "main" parties, and to build a progressive enlightened utopia in which there is mutual respect for a wide variety of cultures and lifestyles, rather than a rigid enforced hierarchy of classes and masses in their daily drudgery of grey drab conformity under the oppressive tyranny of the hated and despotic Blair regime.

[ursula62]

A lot of full time politicians aren't full time MPs at all. I understand from several newspapers recently that my local MP has only attended less than 10% of the votes in the House. How that constitutes being a full time MP I don't know.

 

Also, what about the MPs and ex ministers who are so busy with their executive directorships that they don't have time to do the job of governing the country?

[bernardo]

Attending the votes in the House of Commons is only a relatively minor part of the job - especially when the government has such a huge majority and not every vote is vital.

Much of the work done by MPs is the routine bread-and-butter drudgery of dealing with hundreds of constituents' problems (often with local authorities and other bodies).

They also have to spend many hours sitting, speaking and voting on select committees to scrutinise ministers' actions, and/or to scrutinise and amend a proposed law (a bill) while it is going through parliament.  Some complicated bills start off as a basic skeleton of broad ideas and undergo literally hundreds of amendments before they are passed.

Also, remember that there are many politicians who are not MPs - thousands of local councillors, trade unionists, campaigners, pressure group activists, candidates, agents etc.

[Zen]

You forgot visiting various countries on freebie fact finding tours and the hours and hours spent filling in expense claim forms!!!!
My local MP is a campaigner for animal welfare and very much anti hunting,yet managed to vote in favour of bombing Iraqi schoolchildren with cluster bombs.

[bernardo]

Your MP can't possibly have "managed to vote in favour of bombing Iraqi schoolchildren with cluster bombs" because the House of Commons never voted on such a policy; such a policy has never been the government's policy, and such a course of action has never been pursued by the allied forces in Iraq as a primary objective.  It is of course true that some Iraqi children have unfortunately been killed as a side-effect of military action, but they have never been targetted specifically.

 

Incidentally,

I have now been a member of AnswerBank for 500 days

and

this is my 8000th answer.

 

***cheering and applause***

 

(GAB to anybody who's reading)

[Zen]

He voted in favour of a war which led to this story

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2912105.stm

[bernardo]

Precisely my point.

[ezapf]

Seems like (in the US, anyway) politicians spend more of their own money on the campaign trail than they make if/when elected so it must not be for the money.

200th  *C&A*

GAB

[Yeah Bee]

it is well paid job with quite high credits that doesn't really take any education. I Sweden we have a young member of the parlaiment (for the green party) that said that it isn't a job it isan assingement and should be held for more then one term. He isn't well liked by his fellow parlamentarians cuz he voted for not raising the salary for them.

[Bangkok]

In developing countries, politicians spend a lot to become politicians, but can make substantial sums of untaxed income, often ultimately paid for either by the local population or multinational companies

 

In developed countries, it can be for the power and recognition, particularly career polititicians who are likely to become Ministers (or similar).  Look at the Directorships and part time jobs help by senior MPs and retired Ministers 

 

However, with due deference to Bernardo, some politicians have a genuine desire to help and serve the community.  M parents local MP is such a gentlemen and helps to restore one's faith in the system

[jcherbstritt]

Not wanting to go off the point but - how could that actually of happened - that so many Labour MPs voted For the war?  It was so unrepresentative of public opinion at the time.  Is there an awful amount of pressure in there to stick to the party line - or is it maybe the lack of alternative anti-war material that is available in that space?  Was it because the MPs got bombarded with what was effectively war propaganda?

I'm not denying that MPs do important work, but when it comes to the really important questions - like the war in Iraq, Dungavel detention centre for assylum seekers, the terrorism act and I imagine ID cards, I feel like they let me and my fellow countrymen and women down!

[Zen]

As my original post pointed out,they become part of the party machine,vote as we tell you to or you will be deselected at the next opportunity>

[Zen]

Re ezapf answer regarding US politicians,You cannot be serious as John Mc Enroe used to shout,try listening to "Living in the Wasteland of the Free" by Iris De ment.