Labour Veteran MacKinlay resigns – the end of the Parliamentary age

I wanted to add a post on here about the resignation of Labour MP Andrew MacKinlay.

Tonight he told his constituency party that he intends to step down at the next election. Iain Dale broke the story on his blog.
Andrew stood successfully for Parliament in 1992. He was elected to serve Thurrock, just outside London.

He has resigned because he feels that Parliament has lost its individuality. Individual members are not Parliamentarians anymore; they are party hacks who do what the whips tell them.

I have known Andrew personally for a few years. He is a decent man and a very hard-working MP.

This is an example of the many wee things he would have done in Parliament. In April of this year he introduced a debate on debt collection. This was a debate limited to 30 minutes on what is a very important subject affecting many people across the United Kingdom. What he found was that many debt agencies were buying peoples’ debts from other companies. People were then faced with receiving demanding phone calls and letters from these new companies who demanded repayment. This was being done without the full knowledge of the customer and putting them under stress. Andrew proposed that debts should not be allowed to be sold onto other companies.

His resignation is perhaps a symptom of the Party system that exists in the 21st Century. MP’s should be given more freedoms on certain issues and be entitled to a free vote. A clear example of the party system and its impact is the situation unfolding before our eyes; the meltdown of ‘New’ Labour. The Conservatives are picking up seats in places they never were able to before. This is the political life cycle. One government serves it’s time and is then replaced, and it goes on and on. This affects a lot of individual and hard-working MP’s as the Party system kicks in as MP’s are kicked out. Personally I would place the blame for this on Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair for their dictatorial and Presidential leadership styles. Is it any wonder voters are losing confidence?

Andrew has a keen interest in Northern Ireland and visits the province regularly. He deserves a rest.

Andrew Charles

Long time political hack