I spoke briefly with former deputy prime minister John Prescott. He’s been caught up in the expenses row like so many MPs, and it was interesting to hear his perspective. Politicians on the telly often seem so distant – and they are. But when one of them makes eye contact and tells you what life’s like for them, it’s like that moment when you first realised your parents are only human too.
The story with John is that he claimed for two toilet seats. Of all the stories going round, this one would be insignificant if it wasn’t so funny to picture John sitting on the toilet and the poor toilet collapsing under the pressure.
What really happened is he bought a toilet seat (which he paid for himself), and while a plumber was there anyway, to fix his taps, he asked him to fit the seat too. Unfortunately it wasn’t a good fit (because John had bought the wrong size seat!) and when he next had a plumber in again for something else, he asked him to tighten the seat.
Only in media land could this translate to “Prezza claims for two toilet seats in two years”.
I think we actually get better politicians than we deserve. When I worked in Parliament, I was amazed by how dedicated and caring most MPs are. The so-called gravy train is pathetic compared to what most of them could earn in other walks of life. The greedy politician is mostly a media invention.
I couldn’t help but laugh at the image of John destroying a succession of toilets. But I think he deserves better, and I think we all deserve better than to be represented by people we turn into figures of fun. Satire is good for democracy; disdain isn’t.
Congratulations to John for rising above it – and also for becoming a grandfather this week.
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