Heaven or Hell?

When walking down a street one day a Member of Parliament is hit by a truck and dies. His soul arrives in heaven and at the entrance he is met by a beaming St Peter, dressed in a smart suit, blond hair shining.

"Welcome to heaven" says St Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see high officials here, and we weren't sure what to do with you."

"That's no problem" says the MP, pride reinforcing his sense of authority, "just let me in."

"Well I'd like to, but I have orders from above: what we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one day in heaven, then you can decide where you want to spend eternity."

"No, really, thanks for the offer, I'd usually jump at the chance to spend some time with the less fortunate, you understand, but I've made up my mind and I'd like to spend eternity in heaven" says the MP, smoothly.

"I'm sorry, but orders are orders."

And with that the MP feels himself falling down a tunnel towards a red, shimmering, light. He's immersed in the light, then, suddenly, as if he's come to his senses, he finds himself standing in the middle of a beautiful golf course. Nearby he sees a white painted club house. Standing in front of it are past friends and colleagues, beaming and beckoning, holding flutes of champagne. They greet and shake hands, with much back slapping and laughter, and spend the evening reminiscing about the good times they had while getting rich on tax payers' money and sponsorships.

The next morning, after a restful sleep, they play a friendly game of golf before lunching on lobster, caviar and champagne. Also present is the Devil himself, who entertains them with a jovial speech. He really is a nice guy. They are having such a good time that before he realises it, it is time to go. All these friendly people give him a hearty farewell as he feels himself accelerating upwards towards a bright white light and the gates of Heaven.

"Now it's time to sample the delights of Heaven" welcomes St Peter as the gates magically swing open. The MP fleetingly wonders if the Christian Heaven is the same as the Muslim one, as he strides inside.

24hrs drift by with the MP moving from cloud to cloud amongst a group of angels, singing along to the harp and feeling a warm glow of security and contentment.

St Peter returns. "Now that you've experienced them both, where would do you want to spend eternity?"

The MP puts on his 'reasonable' face, though he's already decided. "On balance... and I would never have believed I would have said this... I mean Heaven has been idyllic... but I think it would be prudent if I spent eternity in Hell."

"Final answer?"

"Final answer."

And immediately he feels himself plummeting back to the red shimmering light. Passing through it he lands with a thud in a bunker. Peering over the rim he's bewildered to see that it's a crater in a desolate world of volcanoes, ruins, waste and rubbish. He sees his friends gathering up the effluent, stooped under great black bin bags of the stuff, all split and dribbling, as more trash falls from the sky.

The Devil comes and puts an arm around him.

"But I don't understand" stammers the MP, wondering what emotion to play. "Yesterday I was here and everything was beautiful. What's going on?"

"Yesterday we were campaigning... But now that you've voted......"

YouGov

According to a YouGov poll published in the Daily Telegraph on 29/11/04:

• 59% of voters thought that "most MPs make a lot of money by using public office improperly"


• 78% agreed that "to win elections, most parliamentary candidates make promises they have no intention of keeping"


• 85% believed that "most MPs will tell lies if they feel the truth would hurt them politically"

And all this before the MPs expenses scandal!

Donations to MPs

Donations made to MPs, exceeding £1000, must be declared, but there is always the worry that money can "buy" policy. Interactive Democracy may make such corruption meaningless as the public have the final vote on new laws.

Two Job MPs

It has long been the case that MPs have been able to have two jobs and lucrative sources of second income, sometimes associated with their Parliamentary responsibilities. One of our best loved leaders, Sir Winston Churchill, wrote several successful books that provided him with extra cash.

It may be argued that MPs' second jobs anchor them in the "real world", forming a connection to the general public that can so easily be lost in the Westminster Village. For example, Sir Paul Beresford has continued to practice as a dentist. The counter argument is that MPs should really be concentrating on politics and their Parliamentary responsibilities, not using their position to make more dosh as nonexecutive directors and the like.

Interactive Democracy feeds everyones' real life experience into the political mix. Every type of democracy needs politicians to be professional and responsible law makers, focused on their jobs as Parliamentarians.

For an Independent article about MPs' second jobs please click here.

MPs Attendance

It is important for Interactive Democracy (indeed any democracy) that MPs attend debates and ballots - that's their job. Perhaps they should be payed for attendance? Or perhaps a record of attendance should be published on the web?

But Cabinet Ministers are also MPs and if they attended every session in Parliament, who would govern the country?

Private Members' Bills

Out of 2067 Private Members' Bills between 1983 and 2002 only 256 were successful! This was largely because Government Bills took up the vast majority of the time available in Parliament.

Interactive Democracy treats Private Members' Bills and Government Bills in the same way, in that they both require support from voters to go forward. However, Party Politics would also come into play, as those parties with the ability to mobilise support from their membership, would likely carry the day. The real difference in the balance of power would be because the whips would have far less influence than they do today. They would have little power over party members and none over the rest of us. The result would be that ideas with popular support could emerge from anywhere, with equal opportunity.

Anyone not Everyone!

Anyone, given the strength of their qualities, can become a Member of Parliament. There is an argument that if you feel strongly about politics you should make the commitment in time and effort to become an MP. The party political process selects the best candidates to stand in elections by a process of "survival of the fittest".

Interactive Democracy recognises that not everyone can become an MP and contribute to public life in that way. There are only 646 seats in the house of commons meaning that vast numbers of intelligent and conscientious members of our society are unable to contribute to political life as much as they would like. Indeed, by dint of their experience, many of these people may be extremely well qualified to vote on individual issues.