It’s always nice to know that your local parliamentary representative respects you. That they will take your serious questions seriously, and explain to you why they’re taking the stands they’re taking.
I guess that’s why I was somewhat taken aback to receive an email from Jane Griffiths MP (Reading East) this morning containing just two words (aside from quoted material):
What nonsense
She was responding to an email I had sent asking what I considered a perfectly legitimate question about manifestos. I had asked whether they were supposed to tell us what legislation a government would bring in during the parliamentary session to which they applied. I may have made a passing comment that if the line she and Blair are taking [“the manifesto only applies to things which take effect during this parliament” (I paraphrase)] is the case then they could write whatever they liked in their manifesto and introduce entirely contrary legislation with some sort of time-delay.
Maybe that struck a little too close to home? Maybe she was striving for consistency and wanted to treat me a bit like she treated Martin?
At least we can enjoy the fact that she’s already been deselected.
[update: apparently the deselection isn’t as final as I thought, or so this article seems to suggest not.]