Douglas Carswell MP: Advice for new MPs

Advice for new MPs

One thing a new MP won't be short of is advice.

Indeed, a great deal of politics consists of dealing with people who either want your job, or who want to tell you how you should be doing it.

But, for what it's worth, here are my two top tips:

1. Read this piece from Fraser Nelson / Gisela Stuart.

The age of big centralised, generic party politics is coming to an end. Politics is becoming more niche, distinctive, particular and local. Ponder the implications.

2 . Blog.

Once you've thought through the implications of 1. above, you'll see why....

Posted on 15 May 2010 by Douglas Carswell

Comments

As I mentioned on your blog a few days ago, we are witnessing the "long tail" of politics. The music business, newspapers, TV/radio, retail, books and soon to be banks are all fragmenting as mega centralised organisations.

Small is beautiful, economics as if people mattered.

An independent England is the way forward.

As an aside did you see that the RSPB now has double the membership of all 3 main political parties combined.

Posted on 15 May 2010 19:31 by libertarian

But . . Douglas . . you made clear that after 5 years you still felt like an alien in the Commons.

Has it occurred to you that your uncomfortable approach to such institutions didn't bring the changes you hoped for?

A shabby deal between two descendants of minor aristos will have more effect than "The Plan" or your seemingly stiff probity.

Let's hope the blackberries are good this year.

Posted on 15 May 2010 20:04 by Quietzapple

@ Quietzapple
As Milton Friedman once said, it's not necessary to throw the bums out- it's enough to persuade the bums that your way is to their advantage. I notice excerpts from the plan cropping up in government daily- so perhaps Mr. Carswell has helped have an effect, despite surprisingly being ignored by Mr. Brown

Posted on 15 May 2010 22:49 by Pat

We live in interesting times, certainly.

I'm not sure I agree with your first point. If the electoral reform goes ahead it may well mean the end of the current party system - but that's unlikely to be replaced by independents campaigning on local issues. More plausible is that it would fragment the major parties leading to formal coalitions of smaller, more ideologically pure parties - who will tolerate even less dissent than the current whips.

Posted on 16 May 2010 08:44 by Russ Williams

Hi Douglas, love the blog.

I'm speaking on radio 5live next week about MPs that blog - why do you think blogging & tweeting is important? How do you find the time to blog on top of your busy job? How do your constituents react to your blogging and tweeting? Does blogging actually make an MP a better MP? When an MP blogs, should there be a very clear dividing line between political blogging and personal blogging?

Thanks,
Matt Tucker
mctucker321@yahoo.co.uk

Posted on 16 May 2010 14:18 by Matt Tucker

Quietzapple,
Yu seem oto have missed the point. Fortunately, not everyone joins the Commons to be "part of the club".
Keep up the good work, Douglas.

Posted on 16 May 2010 15:22 by deborah

Matt,

I'm interested to hear what you say on Radio 5.

Blogging allows me to communicate direct - no need for a middle man, or medium. As economists say, it disintermediates.

Far from being an add on for which I must find the time, it's perhaps the most important thing I do. Far more people have picked up on what I say on this blog than on whaat I say in the Commons chamber. (Incidentally, having watched the election TV debates, doesn't Prime Minister's Question Time seem staid and formulaic?)

I blog about things that interest me - political reform, constituency matters, direct democracy, growing sweetpeas ....

I think that the internet will do to our political class what the printing press and the reformation did to the hierarchy of princes and priests in early modern Europe. Blogging will democratise comment and opinion forming - and force a radical decentralisation of power. Bad news for that SW1 priesthood of careerist politicos. Good news for the rest of us.

I hope that helps.

Douglas

Posted on 16 May 2010 16:37 by Douglas Carswell

"Blogging will democratise comment and opinion forming."

I have definitely found this to be the case. After 3 years of checking blogs religiously, I am more aware of how things are done and why they are done. What's more, I have had my own instincts and persuasions clarified and consolidated by reading the thoughts of others - all-in-all, I consider myself to have a better understanding of why I believe what I do and why I don't accept such things as left-leaning dispositions - that is not to say that I don't bother with the left, quite the contrary.

I have found the right-wing blogs to be much more direct and straight forward whereas the left are rather party line broadcasts, I don't know whether this has to do with Labour having been i Gov for the last 13 years but that remains to be seen.

Blogs are great and very helpful in forming your own outlook.

-gotta dash!

Posted on 17 May 2010 13:52 by Simon

Posted on 17 May 2010 17:32 by Simon

Is there any evidence from the election that candidates selected by primaries/caucuses do better than others?

Posted on 17 May 2010 17:48 by Dave B

Dave B: For proper open primaries, yes. Lots of evidence.

See Totnes and Gosport results.

Posted on 17 May 2010 21:26 by Douglas Carswell

Advice is good, but will Cameron take any notice? He has just abandoned half his electoral promises, after all. The "Big Society" quietly forgotten about.

The pledge not to transfer further powers to Europe without a referendum has been watered down. We're already hearing how the Lisbon Treaty's re-ratification is "a mere tidying-up and streamlining exercise, nothing that we need to hold a referendum over." Well, sorry, Dave, but we've heard that one before. The last time was in reference to -- umm -- the Lisbon Treason, and I don't trust you one inch. Nor do I care whether a referendum will make a jot of difference -- I'd like one anyway if only to express my disapproval.

As for the sovereignty bill -- remember when it was a cast-iron guarantee? Then it was a firm manifesto policy. Now, it's a mere review!

President Sarkozy says that Cameron has told him, "Europe is not a high priority for us." I hope Cameron's just being diplomatic. UKIP's share of the vote rises with every election, and this time, it was big enough to cost him a majority and force him to seek a coalition.

In dumping his cast-iron guarantee, Cameron asked for the life of one parliament to obtain a meaningful repartriation of powers from Brussels. It's not been an encouraging start.

Posted on 18 May 2010 11:24 by Y Rhyfelwr Dewr