Thoughts on Parliament

From time to time, the BBC news shows us the workings of both houses of parliament. I am frequently usually, okay, always unimpressed by what I observe.

Bear in mind that these people are paid to debate; professional mass-debaters (okay, old joke, but applicable here), if you like, we should at the very least, expect them to be able to do so competently. Yet, they never answer a straight question with a clear, succinct response (unless it is a toadying backbencher sucking up to the PM during PMQs). Rather, they will prevaricate, seek to change the parameters of the question, or, as is usual, try to claim that things would be worse under the other lot if they were in power. And, of course, there is the usual ad hominem.

In the wake of the so-called coup to unseat Brown yesterday, one MP this morning was saying how well he handled PMQs, spearing Cameron over policy. No he didn’t. He dished out the usual ad hominems, and made some feeble attempt at cracking jokes, amongst a series of nim, nim, nim, yah-boo sucks politics that is so typical of these adolescents; but he most certainly didn’t deal any killer blows to anyone, let alone on policy.

Earlier in the week, Alan Johnson was asked a pretty straightforward question about why the prime minister lied over security issues – about, if I recall correctly, meetings with the US president. His response was to accuse his questioner of engaging in party-political point scoring. He then proceeded to ignore the question. Asking why the PM lied is a perfectly reasonable question and is not party political and it defintiely warrants a response. Yet Johnson was allowed to get away with it. We, the electorate, were once again short changed.

What I see when I observe these puffed-up buffoons prattling and pontificating, jeering and booing and generally behaving in the manner of the school bullies I recall from my childhood, is something rather less mature than a student’s union debating society. They cannot manage to engage with each others arguments without resort to insult, prevarication and logical fallacy. Indeed, I see as many – if not more – logical fallacies flying about the house of commons than I do on the average Internet forum. It’s pathetic.

We are paying for these arseholes and we are, most certainly, not getting value for money. Childish, immature, incompetent baboons who cannot even conduct their core function with a modicum of competence, they are a disgrace to their profession and to our country. No wonder we are going to hell in the proverbial handcart.

A pox on all their houses.