The A list and its successors haven’t kept a golden generation out of Parliament. Many of those who might have made it up aren’t putting themselves forward for selection in the first place.
If politicians come to believe that the civil service is preoccupied with speaking truth to power at the expense of doing its job, Francis Maude-type solutions will be imposed, regardless of which party is in power.
Corrosive cynicism about politicians makes theirs an impossible task, but holding remuneration down carries its own costs.
Ever greater state funding is being followed by ever greater statism in political thought – and the decline of independent thought.
It’s always tempting for politicians to outsource important decisions. But it doesn’t work.
There’s a good argument for increasing MPs’ pay, but it’s not good enough.
The palaver over MPs’ pay is a consequence of our collective unwillingness to decide what they are and what they should do.