Localism is the key to cleaning up politics

Whenever I was asked as an MP if I would "do as I promised" or "Why should we trust you" I used to honestly answer by saying "I won't be an MP for ever you know, and when I am not I will still have to live in the same street, drink in the same pubs, eat in the same restaurants, Northampton is my home and if I don't keep my integrity and good name then I will have lost a damn sight more than a seat in Parliament"

When I was first elected to the Commons in 1997 it was of course as part of a massive Labour landslide and hidden amongst the celebration and false hope was a little written about added extra, that in winning well and going way beyond the '100 Key Seats' needed for a majority in the Commons, the party had returned to Parliament a number of additional MP's who in their plans, were really not meant to have been there.

Joining me in Parliament were people like Phil Sawford in Kettering, Andy King in Rugby, Ivan Henderson in Harwich all local constituency based candidates who had done their apprenticeships working hard in their local communities and on their respective local councils.

The 100 Key seats on the other hand were stacked full of careerist and opportunists who would have traveled anywhere, and said anything to land a prize of a seat in Parliament. People who lived in one place represented another and saw their constituencies as places to visit rather than places to live and bring up their children.

So if you have a few moments to spare dig up a copy of Labours 100 from 97 including all the Blair's babes and match it against the morally bankrupt individuals who have disgraced parliament over recent weeks with indefensible claims for adaptations, building works, furniture, gardening and luxury goods for their second homes.

Surprise Surprise, the two lists are well matched.

It's not just the Labour Party though, the Tories and the Lib Dem's all have favoured lists of placed candidates parachuted into constituencies at their Party's behest. And in return they get pliant, obedient, voting fodder to do their bidding and sell their policy wares in the House and to the wider electorate.

Local candidates on the other hand are less likely to simply go along with the Party flow, more likely to stand up for what is right for their localities and their constituents, and are bad news for the whips. Mp's should represent their constituencies views in Parliament, not represent the views of their Parties within their constituencies.

So in essence we have the Parliament we deserve, stacked to the brim with individuals with little loyalty to the town's and cities they represent and whose priority in life is the advancement of themselves first and foremost and the needs of their constituencies are way down their list.

So when all the Parties are through with their Star Courts and Chambers, and they have culled their ranks of the greedy and corrupt, then they would do well to thinking about some form of proven local connection when choosing replacement candidates. We have had all women shortlists and secured positions on shortlists for black and minority ethnic candidates, so perhaps it's now time for system that concentrates the mind and the vote on people who truly represent their seats because they know the people who live there and want to improve their own own areas not just see it as the place where their fees office paid for property portfolio is based.

Add in a dash of Single Transferable Vote and a generous sprinkling of transparency and we might just have a recipe for real change.

In the meantime though I will steer clear of the lot of them, and the only way I see a lot of constituencies getting proper representation is through them electing Independent candidates into office as Local Government and at a National level.