Another reason why the current party system is poisoning Britain

The one good thing about the British parliamentary system is the stake that every MP is supposed to have in his or her constituency. They are supposed to be ambassadors for the needs and interests of their constituents. However, in order to have a career at all they have also to be subservient followers of the party line, and, where the government is in power, of the government line. The two positions are contrasting and often incompatible. Good constituency MPs will give ministers trouble and will not be promoted to the exalted position of Parliamentary Private Secretary (individual crawler to a Minister who has already in his/her turn been a PPS and a crawler). Selection will work in reverse: the best will remain to warm the back benches and the worst will be rise through the ranks till their mediocrity and "team spirit" has got them to an interchangeable ministerial role. Because of course any politician good enough to be Minister for Education is equally able to be Minister for Defence or Minister for Agriculture. And if you think I am fantasizing, study the careers of genuinely good constituency MPs such as the late Gwyneth Dunwoody.