From status to contract and back again
One of my favourite saws at the moment is the notion that the Enlightenment was, inter alia, marked by legal relations and the like moving from status to contract. This came to mind noting Ruth Kelly's shock horror reaction to the fact that the majority of elected councillors are not in the first flush of youth, are predominately white, and majority male. Kelly seems to think it self evident that 'democracy will benefit if they are more representative of the communities they serve'.
So, as a public service, I am taking her figuree applying the same to the breakdown of the cabinet. Council equivalents are bracketted :
"95.6 (96) per cent of cabinet members are white, with only 4.3 (0.5) per cent Black and 0 (2.7) per cent Asian. The average age of a cabinet member was shown to be 54 (58), with more than 26 (50) per cent over 60 and none (0.3) under 25. And fewer than 34 (30) per cent councillors are women".
And just for fun, 'Even more shockingly, research shows that there are more people called Hilary or with titles in the cabinet than there are people under 40'.
I have never been especially keen on gender, age or other quotas, but when it comes to the democratically elected, we are in very murky waters indeed. Should parties be banned from letting unfashionable demographics stand, perhaps? Also, an almighty hole can be kicked in the 'methodology' used in that council areas do not have parity of population, and the non-white population is concentrated in the larger urban areas. As a point of comparison, the borough where I grew up has a population of around 71,000 and 38 councillors, whereas sweet home Croydonia has a population of 343,000 and 70 councillors.
So, as a public service, I am taking her figuree applying the same to the breakdown of the cabinet. Council equivalents are bracketted :
"95.6 (96) per cent of cabinet members are white, with only 4.3 (0.5) per cent Black and 0 (2.7) per cent Asian. The average age of a cabinet member was shown to be 54 (58), with more than 26 (50) per cent over 60 and none (0.3) under 25. And fewer than 34 (30) per cent councillors are women".
And just for fun, 'Even more shockingly, research shows that there are more people called Hilary or with titles in the cabinet than there are people under 40'.
I have never been especially keen on gender, age or other quotas, but when it comes to the democratically elected, we are in very murky waters indeed. Should parties be banned from letting unfashionable demographics stand, perhaps? Also, an almighty hole can be kicked in the 'methodology' used in that council areas do not have parity of population, and the non-white population is concentrated in the larger urban areas. As a point of comparison, the borough where I grew up has a population of around 71,000 and 38 councillors, whereas sweet home Croydonia has a population of 343,000 and 70 councillors.
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on Friday, February 09, 2007 at 8:25 am.
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If the cabinet were representative, it would have only 0.01 members from an Irish Catholic IRA background. So Ms Kelly wouldn't be all there. Not that she is anyway.
The irritating thing is that a body will be set up. Another reason why anyone who thinks that we can't reduce waste needs to be lined up against a wall.
I forsee a new role for the masterly Mary Fitzpatrick of the BBC here.
She is the ideal person to lead a new crusade against democracy and in favour ethnic/gender gerrymandering.
What is wrong with the notion that whoever is elected an MP swears to serve all of his/her constitutuents? This is how we've done it for centuries. This is such a grotesque notion that reeks of the failed philosophy of socialism.
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