MPs work for warmongers

New definition for politicians another stepping stone to tyranny

- by MARCUS BLACKETT

ALEX Kriel of the Thinking Coalition substack recently spotted a potentially game-changing rewrite of our Members of Parliaments' job description on the government's website.

If he had not taken a screenshot of the previous description under the title ‘What does an MP do?’, it might have gone unnoticed.

Many of us have always been somewhat suspicious – to say the least – that MPs do not represent us – but now the MP’s central role in our democratic tradition of ‘parliamentary sovereignty’ could have disappeared without trace, had the government’s sleight of hand not been exposed.

The previous wording was: ‘The UK public elects members of Parliament (MPs) to represent their interests and concerns in the House of Commons. MPs can consider and can propose new laws as well as raising issues that matter to you in the House. This includes asking government ministers questions about current issues, including those which affect local constituents.’

This job description was then changed to: ‘MPs work both at the UK Parliament and in their local constituencies. How and where they work is largely up to them to decide. There is no job description or contracts of employment for MPs, nor any rules on how they should balance the competing demands of these two roles. However, MPs must abide by standards of conduct, rules and conventions.’

All reference to elections and representations has been removed from the page, and it suggests that an MP’s constituency work is now of secondary consideration. Not that our democracy was by any means perfect beforehand – but these changes have no doubt been made deliberately.