Ian Dunt

Like I spoke to hundreds of MPs.

And each time you ask them, at any point when you were selected as the candidate, did anyone...

ask you how you're going to scrutinize legislation, which is after all, like we kind of get the job of the MP.

That's their core constitutional function.

Not a single one was able to tell me that anyone had asked them that question at any time.

Why?

Loads of them sit in safe seats.

So when they're picked as a candidate, they're basically being picked as an MP.

And who are they picked by?

the local party.

They're picked by party activists, basically people with very firm political views who like spending their Sundays, rainy, cold Sundays, cramming leaflets through mailboxes.

You know, that's a very specific kind of human being, right?

And they're not really interested in scrutinizing legislation.

They just want other people like them who also want to spend their Sundays doing that sort of thing.

And you get these party political, really pretty ignorant, you know, highly obedient thinkers who do what the party tells them to do.

And then they sit in the Commons and legislation comes out and the government's got a majority.

And what scrutiny is happening?

Nothing.

It's just rubber stamp it, rubber stamp it, rubber stamp it.

So that process you get in other countries, especially countries with any degree of proportional representation, where there's more of a mixture in the parliament, it's harder to get your legislation through where you've got to convince people of your proposals.