Does power corrupt?

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by cashman

Common sense difficult when ya got Tory leanings i accept that fact. I believe if one is bent they were bent before, Politics just develops it more.

Oh come on cashy I didn't realise you were a real head the ball until I met you

[cashman]

Originally Posted by jaysay

Oh come on cashy I didn't realise you were a real head the ball until I met you

Thats what comes wi yeh leading a sheltered life.

[accyman]

i think most of the polititions in the house of commons are corrupt and have stamped over or stabbed many people in the back to claw where they are now.There may be a small handfull of people who are truely there to serve the people but they are far and few between and our MP certainly isnt one of them as he has proven .If polititions were a type of cancer to get rid of it you would also have to cut out some of the good as well to make sure it was all removed.


it seems we democraticaly elect people to dictate to us although no one at all voted for this coalition

[mobertol]

It's a word which covers a multitude of sins. My trusty Collins thesaurus (never leaves my side) gives the following synonyms, just in case anyone was unsure as to what corrupt means and what corruption is:

Bent, bribable, crooked, dishonest, fraudulent, rotten, shady, unethical, unprincipled, Unscrupulous, venal.
Abandoned, debased, debauched, defiled, degenerate, demoralized, depraved, dishonoured,dissolute, profiteer, profligate, vicious.
As a verb: Alter, contaminate,defile, doctor, Entice, falsify, fix, grease someone's palm, infect,lure, pervert,putrefy,spoil, square, subborn, subvert, taint, tamper with and vitiate.

Plenty to play with - can't comment personally as i don't think I've "known" those in power on the forum over enough time. (Not sitting on the fence this time -I really don't know what they promised and what they might have delivered.)

My own experience, from another time and place, is that power does corrupt - especially political power, it can bend even the most fervent idealists.

[Eric]

Absolutely

[jaysay]

There's always an old saying that rising political stars should heed, be careful who to step on on your way up, as you meet the same people on the way back down

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by cashman

Thats what comes wi yeh leading a sheltered life.

Sheltered life, so thats what ya call it

[accyman]

Originally Posted by jaysay

There's always an old saying that rising political stars should heed, be careful who to step on on your way up, as you meet the same people on the way back down

doubt it jay because they get a very large pension even if they only last one term so they never have to dirty themselves with their locals again.

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by accyman

doubt it jay because they get a very large pension even if they only last one term so they never have to dirty themselves with their locals again.

No but they have to live with um,

[Houseboy]

Power can and does corrupt but the real reason that the powerful always seem corrupt is down to that old statement of fact: those who seek power are those who are least suited to it. The fact is we are in the same position now that we have been in for hundreds (thousands?) of years, the people who are born at the top do whatever they can to hold on to what they've got and those who achieve the climb to the top are usually self-serving and tend to pull the ladder up behind them. Thatcher should have been a shining example to all women with ambition but instead I believe she put the idea of women leaders back years and she hardly ever had any women in her cabinet.
The only thing that surprises me anymore in politics is that politicians actually seem to think that we believe that they give a damn. Whenever the country is in a poor state (when exactly that is and how often is another argument) the most sickening thing I think a politician can say is, "We are all in this together".
People need to stop labouring under the misapprehension that our leaders care about us or the country, they do just whatever is needed to retain power, that includes lying, cheating, squirming, kissing babies and latching onto the Olympics as though it was their idea.
Long live the revolution (a revolution is something that ultimately takes you back to where you started - so that's no bloody good either).

[Ken Moss]

Having had the privelige of sitting on both sides of the fence, it strikes me that almost all references to politicians seem to refer to MPs at national level. Hardly any comments seem to relate to local councillors and yet when arguments come up we are lumped in with the same crowd.

The assertion that MPs come from the top and that's how they stay there is a little off the mark, though.

[cashman]

Thats probably cos locals in general are more concerned wi local issues n local people, theres always the exception though.as we have seen recently.

[Houseboy]

Originally Posted by Ken Moss

Having had the privelige of sitting on both sides of the fence, it strikes me that almost all references to politicians seem to refer to MPs at national level. Hardly any comments seem to relate to local councillors and yet when arguments come up we are lumped in with the same crowd.

The assertion that MPs come from the top and that's how they stay there is a little off the mark, though.

I have long held the belief that the only difference between national politicians and local ones is that they operate on a much smaller scale. I am one of the few people who believe that we should be guided more centrally and less locally.
It always seems to me that local government exists to be a pain in the backside to people. Petty by-laws are the bain of most peoples lives and seem to do very little to enhance anyones life. Local councilors seem to "impose" things on the local populace either because they can or in an effort to leave some kind of personal legacy to the community, regardless of whether anyone wants it or not. Not meaning to offend anyone who has been a councilor (there are good ones just as there are good MP's) but I think the world would be a better place with a few less of them.

[cashman]

Disagree wi yeh houseboy, Central is corruption on a much grander scale altogether, Agree yer one of the few.

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Houseboy

I have long held the belief that the only difference between national politicians and local ones is that they operate on a much smaller scale. I am one of the few people who believe that we should be guided more centrally and less locally.
It always seems to me that local government exists to be a pain in the backside to people. Petty by-laws are the bain of most peoples lives and seem to do very little to enhance anyone's life. Local councilors seem to "impose" things on the local populace either because they can or in an effort to leave some kind of personal legacy to the community, regardless of whether anyone wants it or not. Not meaning to offend anyone who has been a councilor (there are good ones just as there are good MP's) but I think the world would be a better place with a few less of them.

In my opinion I think it should be the other way round, more weight behind local politicians and less from central government, local councillors are more in touch with the needs of local people. National politicians tend to forget the wishes of people who put them in Westminster, until the time comes around when they need that support again