Where have all the characters gone?

AT a recent talk a very nice lady asked me whether I thought there were enough characters left in Parliament?

My answer was something along the lines of there being some colourful politicians about the place but that on balance there is probably too strong a culture of 'playing it safe' for too many striking characters to blossom.

The interesting question is why is this so? One answer is perhaps that the days of deference towards MPs are firmly over — the trusty BBC reporter at the foot of the airplane steps with the microphone, Homburg hat and raincoat thanking Harold MacMillan profusely for a curt 'no' in response to a request for a comment quite rightly belongs to the past, but has not the general low esteem with which politicians are often held simply contributed to the end of elected representatives occasionally being given the benefit of the doubt? And what of the press?

A press (and I speak here of nationals rather than locals) that is often prepared to sensationalise and condemn with little concern for the pursuit of the truth and in many cases apparently oblivious to privacy.

Though not a politician Prince Harry comes to mind as a recent case in point – very foolish he may have been in Las Vegas but was there really a public interest in the Sun splashing a full frontal of him on the front page with the headline 'Heir it is!' whilst claiming it did so 'in order for the debate around [the photo] to be fully informed.'

I certainly wouldn't advocate strip billiards to my colleagues at Westminster any time soon but, yes, madam, perhaps there could be a little more colour in Parliament.

What do you think? Let me know at [email protected]">[email protected]