TIMESONLINE: The public anger is not just about expenses. There has been a cultural shift away from organisations towards individuals
When Michael Martin was first elected Speaker of the House of Commons, he symbolised the idea that power was within the grasp of the ordinary man. A former sheet metal worker raised in a Glasgow slum had landed one of the most powerful roles in the land.
Now Mr Martin has come to embody the disconnection between Parliament and the people. His failure to understand public concern about MPs' expenses, his attempt to block the release of documents and refusal to reform the system have made him the figurehead of a political establishment that is dangerously detached from voters.
Privately, Cabinet ministers and their Conservative shadows agree with the Liberal Democrat front bench that Mr Martin has to go. In the Commons yesterday the Speaker looked like a teacher who had lost control of an unruly class. It is hard to see how he can survive having lost all respect.
But politicians should not think that this human sacrifice will be enough to appease the electoral gods who will judge them on polling day.
The public reaction to claims for mortgages, manure and massage chairs is so intense because it is not just about MPs' expenses. It's about the inability of politicians to understand that the “little people” no longer look up to the “big people”, that the balance of power has shifted from institutions to individuals, that the iPod generation does not want to join party tribes. There has been an emotional outpouring, rather as there was after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, because there is a cultural clash between Westminster and the modern world.
The moat is a metaphor for the barrier between the voters and their elected representatives. A revolution is under way, and not just in politics.
Bankers are facing a backlash over bonuses. Bloggers take on the mainstream media. Banksy is as desirable as Botticelli. A decade ago, celebrity magazines would portray Hollywood stars as higher beings - now they write flatteringly about reality TV contestants while highlighting millionaire actresses' cellulite.
Just as Galileo argued that the Earth moved around the Sun, so the “little people” insist that they, rather than the “big people”, are now the centre of the world. A Cabinet minister says: “When you're knocking on doors one of the hardest things is the amount of anger and hostility towards anybody in authority. It's like a flame thrower being directed against you.” >>> Rachel Sylvester | Tuesday, May 19, 2009
