Paul Goodman writes for Policy Exchange on what it is that we want from our MPs, at a time when the whole political class has rarely been held in lower esteem.  He argues that MPs should be more independent and less scrutinized by officialdom than they are now.

He sets out the choice: should MPs be elected representatives, free to use their time and judgement as they see fit and not wholly dependent on the taxpayers’ money and the quango state’s approval?

Or should we continue down the road to professional politicians, answerable only to their whips, party machines and anonymous quangos, solely reliant on the taxpayer for their income and taking on mountains of inappropriate constituency case work for something to do.