Unfair dismissal

In my opinion, David Drew the Member of Parliament for Stroud does a dreadful job. Quite frankly, I don’t think he is fully capable of discharging the duties of an MP and, in all honesty, he should be removed from his post forthwith.

These are not really my views. Neither are they necessarily true. For all I know, Mr Drew probably does a very good job of representing his constituents. Statements of the type above are extremely easy to make and they are excellent ways, for those in positions of responsibility, to capture a piece of the limelight. Yet they are both ill considered and thoughtless.

For one thing, unless he does something completely illegal, Mr Drew has, through his election, a contract with his constituents. The majority voting for him agreed to elect him for a full term of office. You don’t have to agree with his election, of course, but the way the electoral system is structured is such that Mr Drew has an absolute right to serve for a full term, as does any Member of Parliament.

I am sure that Mr Drew would agree entirely with the above logic, which is why it is a pity he is unable to apply it to the commercial world. For those not aware, Mr Drew is the latest MP to call for First Great Western to lose its franchise. Such a manoeuvre – which could be known as 'doing a May' (after the ever disagreeable Theresa May, the first to employ the strategy) – is highly cynical.

Unless it breaches the terms of its contract, which it hasn’t, First Great Western can’t simply be ‘sacked’ from the Greater Western franchise; just as Mr Drew can’t be removed from office. Mr Drew should be well aware of this fact, and if he isn’t then he clearly isn’t qualified to make comments on this matter and should keep his views to himself. The likelihood is, of course, that Mr Drew is aware and that, despite this, he is trying to score some cheap political points to curry favour with the electorate of Stroud. This is nothing more than the politics of irresponsibility and it's one of the reasons MPs are held in such low esteem.

This is not to say that Mr Drew can’t, or shouldn’t, criticise First Great Western. With just cause, he has every right to. But he should be open and honest with the electorate and not call for things he knows are impossible.

If Mr Drew sincerely wanted a better service his time would be better spent applying pressure to the Department for Transport to ensure that First Great Western is able to keep the class 180 Adelante trains and that the Department stops its meddling in the rail system which is making life a misery for passengers.

These things may not be dramatic and exciting headline grabbers, but they represent a far more realistic and honest approach to the debate over the future of the Greater Western rail franchise.