A huge weight rests on the shoulders of these 226 newly elected MPs in shaping our future democracy to modernise and help restore public trust in Parliament; they make up more than a third of the 650 MPs in the House of Commons. The new MPs know this too, and that their days there could be numbered if boundary changes are pushed through to reduce the number of MPs by 10% by the next Parliament.
So far so good with our Con-Lib coalition, and an energised Labour Party will be good for us all – I favour David Miliband as their newly elected leader – as a fierce Opposition is essential to keep politics healthy and stimulating and ensures that the job gets done which we set out to do.
I see your point about effective opposition, but I don’t understand how a party that was a disaster in government can be effective in opposition.
Frugal, It’s a different ball game for Labour now, and they have to work harder in Opposition to be effective and win respect, they cannot be complacent and ride rough shod over people’s views in the same way. Let’s see whether they can achieve this with a new leader. Had Labour dumped Brown a year ago, there could well have been a very different election result.
“gain respect” – those with pensions and a sense of liberty will hope Labour never, ever return to office Ellee.
JJ