QUOTE (Simon Kirby @ Jul 11 2013, 08:45 PM)
I feel less generous towards the MPs than you: I don't think they're having the wool pulled over their eyes, I just don't think they could care less. It seems to me that politicians of all persuasions and vocations surrender to some overarching don't-rock-the-boat establishment pressure.
Many, many times have we seen reports of ministers (and Prime Ministers!) being economical with the truth when reporting to the Comons (WMD anyone)
QUOTE
I would add a fourth strand of the state apparatus: the administration, the most malign and self-serving strand of them all. It's a deception to think that the politicians are in charge, they're not, they're just front-men, the power is in the hands of the administrators: and the administration keeps the politicians occupied with their snouts in the trough while they get on with the real work - administration for its own sake!
The 'administration' is a part of the executive and frustrates ministers just as much