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mark occomore · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 9955 Location: UK

Does anyone think it's a good idea to have Celebrities putting themselves up for Independent MP's? Esther Rantzen and Joanna Lumley may put there names forward.

We should have real people putting themselves forward instead of people who have money behind them.

Could we end up having a celebrity culture in Westminster?

Lord Evan Elpuss · Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 3417 Location: Cloud Cuckoo Land

Could we have 'Celebrity Big Brother Does Westminster', with the public voting an MP out every week?
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Helen May · Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 19382 Location: Cheshire

It very much depends on the celebrity Mark.

Martin Bell was our MP when he stood against Neil Hamilton and I think he did a good job. Esther Rantzen I think would be very good, but then she has had a good education of 'life' unlike some of the MPs that we have sitting at the moment.

We are lacking some of the fine 'character' members of Parliament that we had in years gone by as well.

Also don't forget that the US had a celebrity president in Ronald Reagan! Not sure I'd want that but you never know.

H
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I said it live on air in the studio with Jeremy Vine on 10/3/2005

colby · Joined: 06 Feb 2009 Posts: 1216

Isn't the final decision taken by the people who exercise their franchise at the ballot box?
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colby · Joined: 06 Feb 2009 Posts: 1216

Briant · Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 9:52 pm Post subject:

I could never put myself forward as a prospective MP because I wouldn't swear allegiance to Royalty. Unlike some MPs who 'cross their fingers' when taking the oath. Rolling Eyes

colby · Joined: 06 Feb 2009 Posts: 1216

RockitRon · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 7646

A simple change of the oath of allegiance to refer to "the people of the United Kingdom" would seem to be timely and aposite - to remind MPs in whose interests they are supposed to be working. (But would the EU allow it? Razz

)

Some celebrities do quietly well in the House of Commons - Martin Bell, Austin Mitchell, Clement Freud - but in the eyes of the public their profile seems to dim. And some are complete disasters - need I mention Glenda Jackson?

I'd have thought that both Esther Rantzen and Joanna Lumley, whose name has also been touted by the media as being interested in standing for election, would be able to achieve more outside the Commons than in. Would Ms Lumley campaign for such parochial issues such as the closure of the rural post office patronised by three OAPs and their dogs with the same gusto as the right of settlement/nationality for Gurkha veterans?
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Ron

Gnasty Gnome · Joined: 28 Jul 2007 Posts: 313 Location: West Wales

iwarburton · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 2133 Location: Northumberland

But I thought that Glenda Jackson had been identified as one of the MPs who wasn't up to her eyes in the expenses trough.

And, while she's not been especially remarkable in Parliament, I can't think of anything that she's done to disgrace herself.

Ian.

RockitRon · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 7646

No suggestion of impropriety with expenses.

Her performance as a junior minister (transport, wasn't it?) seemed to be particularly inept. It might have been her antipathy (to put it mildly) towards Tony Blair; he eventually returned her to the back benches.
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Ron

Rachel · Guest

It's far too dangerous to stand as an MP. The media crawling all over your life to find anything printworthy. If they find nothing of interest; they just make it up anyway. The media manipulate people and events to meet their own agenda, and sell papers. Parliament is a circus- the papers are the ring masters- we are the paying punters. I've been sat patiently waiting for the clowns all my life- it turns out that the clowns have been on for years, they're just not funny.

RockitRon · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 7646

Well, Ms Lumley has got a result
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8060607.stm
and Gordon Brown gets brownie points off her, so he'll be dining on those crumbs of comfort for some time, I should think.

Now, would she have caught the attention of the media and public in quite the same way if she'd been an MP, tied to PM's Questions and Private Member's Bills?

Naturally, her success has led to many more celebrity names being touted as likely MP material - The Telegraph's fanciful list contains a few worthies, such as Esther Rantzen and Lynn Faulds-Wood, but quickly realises that there aren't that many suitable candidates, by also proposing Judy Finnegan and Frank Bough. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/5357152/MPs-expenses-Im-a-celebrity-vote-for-me.html
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Ron