Labour MP for Stoke on Trent, Robert Flello, has put down a question for Ruth Kelly asking her whether she has made an assessment "the merits of having full-time elected local councillors." What an absolutely horrible thought that is.
I wonder what Flello's motivation is for such a question though? According to TheyWorkForYou he never rebels against the party in Parliament. Good this be a planted question in advance of some announcement about the so-called "double-devolution" plans for local authorities? After all, you wouldn't ask such a question unless you either believed in it, or you knew something about the answer already would you?
The very idea of yet more professional full-time politicians should make anyone wince really. The best thing about councillors currently is that they are normal people with real world experience (most of the time (at least Tories anyway (usually)). If we started to have full-time elected councillor we would see the rise of the political class at a local level like we have in Westminster. I'm looking forward to seeing the response.
3 comments:
After this weekend's shenanigans, I'd kind of like full time councillors, so they don't have any time to do anything stupid; on the other hand, it hasn't worked for MPs, so maybe Thomas More's idea is better, whereby anyone who seeks public office is automatically barred from taking it.
What a terrible idea!
An idea whose time has come. What are all those non-a-list wannabe researchers going to do with their lives.
Apprenticship in local government is an extension of the political gravy train.
damn.
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