I agree Iains (Feel free to cut it down to DtG BTW. I do :-) )

One point I have made over and over again in many political threads here and elsewhere is underlined by your statement The party whips and lobbyists would appear to have far more control over those elected than those that elected them. My plan to resolve this situation (in the mythical land of Gnome) is to abolish party politics. Remove the party whips and make sure each elected representative votes on issues according to their own conscience and the wishes of their electorate. There would still be alliances and tactical voting of course but wouldn't it be much better if the people that we elect actualy did what we wanted?

There is still my reservation about those who think they can run a country being barking mad and therefore not fit to do the job. I am still working on how to resolve that one...

DtG