A valuable tool, one that I have not taken proper advantage so far, is They Work For You, a website that keeps an eye on how exactly your MP is voting in Parliament. It's certainly worth playing with, if only to shatter your illusions about certain politicians.
I've always admired Jon Cruddas, for his principled deputy leadership campaign and his continued pressure from the backbenches for Labour to return to its grassroots. Yet a glance at his voting record is illuminating, with his credentials not as impressive as I thought they would be. Support for the Iraq war and opposition to an investigation into it are dipleasing, as is his strong support for Labour's anti-terrorism laws. His fence-hopping exploits on the climate change front are inexplicable.
On the other hand, the pin-up boy of progressive politics, Vince Cable seems to justify his current popularity with a voting record that would please many on the left. Maybe the Lib Dems, with a figure like Cable leading the policy debate, really are the best of a bad lot at the current time.
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I find 'They work for you' to be a very useful sight. I think you have to be a bit careful when looking at voting records etc purely in black & white terms but it's great for writing to your MP and you usually get a response, although not always the response you would hope!
ReplyDeleteSorry should read 'site' - Doh!
ReplyDeleteYeah I came across 'They Work for You' a couple of months ago and was amazed that such a tool for transparency existed. Good news for democracy.
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