Yesterday Sean O’Grady wrote in the Independent (yes, TheEye thought it had shut down too) an article in which he “uncovers” an “absence of diversity in the 119 people now running the country“. Shockingly:

Analysis by The Independent of the social origins of members of the coalition government – the most extensive exercise of its kind – reveals that…ethnic minorities….glaringly white….heavy public school bias….

Yadda yadda yadda. You realise TheEye reads this stuff so that you don’t have to? No charge.

Jonathan Isaby writes altogether more sensibly on ConHome in reply:

“I have never believed that Parliament or the Government should be a microcosm of society. If it were, half would be comprised – by definition – of those of below average intelligence and educational attainment, for a start.

…which is true. Think of the average person you know, and consider how stupid they are. Then realise that half of the world is statistically more stupid than that.

However TheEye finds himself more in sympathy with Sean O’Grady than Jonathan Isaby, because Jonathan says: “To to do otherwise would smack of tokenism and the politics of quotas, to which I do not subscribe.”


Well TheEye believes in quotas for MPs. Not for gays obviously – they are wildly over-represented in Parliament already – but a quota for MPs who believe in the same values as the majority of the country:

• The UK has a majority in opposition to EU membership
• The UK supports the death penalty for the most extreme offences
• There is overwhelming enthusiasm for tougher sentencing and action on crime
• A strong majority support the legalisation of cannabis
• A majority believe that Islam is a threat to the West
• Four out of five want a cap on immigration, costing the Conservatives the election.