In praise of the MPs who spoke out in the trans debate

There is an old Westminster joke that says if you want to keep something secret, say it on the floor of the House of Commons. Day-to-day parliamentary business doesn’t often get the attention of national media outlets and thus the wider country.

This is understandable but also a pity because we often end up missing our elected representatives doing the things we expect of them: debating important things, discussing subjects that concern voters, even sometimes showing thoughtful leadership.

I’ve spent most of my career around MPs. Maybe I’ve been captured, but I often think they deserve a bit more respect than they get. Most work very hard (and much harder than when I started my first job in the Commons in 1994) and take their jobs very seriously. Yes, they’re paid well above the national average, but I’ve honestly never met an MP who did the job for the money; the hours, the dislocated life and the abuse simply don’t justify it.