I groaned when I heard Esther Rantzen was going to stand as an independent in Luton South. I know celebrities seem to be expected to turn their hands to most things these days. Jungle survival (including eating grubs), gourmet cookery, ballroom dancing, singing (although some of them really shouldn’t), conducting etc etc but why does Esther seem to think that the logical next step is running the country?
There’s a lot wrong with the image of politicians I know. But I can’t think of any other job which Esther would think she could sign up to without prior work experience, knowledge or skills. Doctor? Teacher? Plumber? The current crop of MPs must look to be making such a fist of the job that Esther, I suppose, feels she can’t do any worse. She’s very wealthy and has a high media profile so she might actually do quite well. But this saddens me enormously.
Are we at the dawning of a political age where money, profile and celebrity are the key criteria to gaining a seat in parliament? Certainly money already counts – roughly 17 of the Tory front bench are millionaires. So does hard work, local knowledge, sincerity and experience of the ordinary world of work get relegated to second place? I really do hope not. If you live in Luton South, please don’t vote Esther.
