Only university of life can produce calibre of MPs we need

From: RC Curry, Adel Grange Close, Leeds.

FORMER MP MICHAEL Meadowcroft in his letter (Yorkshire Post, March 5) hits the nail on the head when he comments about the lack of valuable background experience amongst MPs.

He is quite right when he observes about the likely inability of highly-specialised people, whether from business, professional or service backgrounds, to have the broader experience and knowledge required to be a successful Minister.

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It is the privilege of the young to believe that they know all the answers and that matters about which their elders speak are 
“out of date”. As they later realise, such thinking illustrates their lack of broader knowledge of life which is essential for anyone seeking to be useful as a politician or even as an administrator in the public service.

Certainly the current path to a parliamentary seat via university and then through the research office of some sitting MP is almost valueless unless it has been combined with meaningful and challenging work in commerce, a profession or best of all “on the shop floor”.

Military service at the MoD alone is no better than the front ranker who has no experience of the work back stage to administer the larger force. This lack of background becomes evident when observing quiz shows on television.

At the basic level, minds do not stretch much above entertainment in some sphere.

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However, even the most intelligent who answer very complex questions in University Challenge then fail when a 
more general knowledge is needed.

Older competitors seem to have the edge with their more widely-acquired experience. That experience is the “university of life” and can not be obtained in any other way than by getting out and about and actually being involved, hands-on.

That is what our MPs need if they are going to be able to represent the people usefully and in due course rise to office to run the country successfully.

From: Ken Cooke, Wheatley Road, Ilkley.

UKIP and their europhobe fellow travellers (Nick Yates, Yorkshire Post, March 6) have completely misread the results of the Eastleigh by-election. Looking at the results in terms of support for the EU, we see that 13,300 Lib Dem voters remain pro-EU, while anti-EU UKIP scored 11,500. The rump of the Tory vote (10,500) are presumably for Cameron who is pro-EU “with modifications” (merely a sop to defectors), and Labour voters (4,000) too are largely pro-EU.

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If we say 8,000 of that Tory 
vote would back Cameron and 3,000 of the Labour voters are pro-EU, this adds 11,000 to the Lib Dem stance on Europe, viz: a total of 24,300 against Ukip’s 11,500 – an absolute rout of anti-EU sentiment; more than two to one.

This to me seems a fair reflection of current attitudes.

Seventy six per cent of UK businesses prefer to remain within the EU and increasingly more working people appreciate that jobs and prosperity 
benefit from our EU membership.

We could regard the Eastleigh by-election as an “accidental” referendum on the EU – and Little Englanders were thrashed!

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