Playing Politics?
Following the Euro 2020 final last night Dover MP Natalie Elphicke sent a private message to fellow MPs which said, “They lost – would it be ungenerous to suggest [Marcus] Rashford should have spent more time perfecting his game and less time playing politics.”
After wide condemnation she apologised today.
Natalie Elphicke MP was caught out, believing her racism and cynicism was private. She apologised because she was caught, not because she thought she had done wrong.
We still – just about – live in a democracy. That means whether you work, are unemployed, are retired, are a footballer, film star, brick layer, chef, teacher, whatever – you are entitled to take part in the democratic process as well as do your job.
Some Conservative MPs would rather we didn’t interfere in their running of the country, forgetting they work for us and are answerable to us. They don’t like criticism, and many are childishly thin-skinned. One Tory MP has pestered my wife merely because I publicly disagreed with him.
It is perfectly possible to be a professional footballer and someone who engages with the democratic process. Though it seems that it’s not possible to be a Conservative MP and ensure the poorest children in our society are fed; or deal with a dangerous pandemic without lining their own pockets and the pockets of their friends.
