The Westminster Conspiracy

THE WESTMINSTER CONSPIRACY An under-reported speech by Greg Dyke, attacking the political class for their stranglehold on democracy.

Last month, Greg Dyke, who was the BBC's director general from 2000-2004, described the BBC as part of a "conspiracy" preventing the "radical changes" needed to UK democracy. Speaking at the Liberal Democrat party's conference, Dyke said:

"The evidence that our democracy is failing is overwhelming and yet those with the biggest interest in sustaining the current system - the Westminster village, the media and particularly the political parties, including this one - are the groups most in denial about what is really happening to our democracy."

Repeated nonsense from the politicos about cleaning up politics and improving the system are smoke-screens to cover up their intentions to do nothing so that they remain in power.

As I have repeatedly said, the problem is not so much the system as the people in it. Even if you have the best system in the world it'll be rubbish if the people within it are a bunch of self-serving shits.

Garbage Out Garbage In

Happy as I am that Michael Martin has defenestrated himself from his position as Speaker and that a sizeable percentage of current MPs will not be sitting in the next parliament, I am not filled with confidence that the British political system will change radically for the better.

I fear that the new intake of MPs will be even worse than the current lot. Prepare yourself for the influx of a fresh tranche of the Political Class, people with little or no experience outside politics: people who've been to university and then worked their way through a variety of routes - internships, think-tanks, local government, trade unions, PR, the media, occasionally the law.

Unless something is done to change this, the situation won't really change.