Rory Stewart

Jen
"He's only the MP for Penrith because he was turned down for Beaconsfield,"
And your point is.......?

Well, Tegan, there's always George Galloway.

Read his wikipedia entry, Tegan. I think that's the one that tells you about his wife. He thinks kids are the opium of the masses, so hope you do not have too many grandchildren.

Petra, you need to read A Blaze of Autumn Sunshine, by Tony Benn. You would be amazed at how much walking and travelling he did when he was in his 8os.

Durhamjen

What is your definition of the thought behind 'kids are the opium of the masses'?

I think you know the point, Jane. Some people just want to be MPs and are not bothered who they represent.
In fact, reading about him, he reminds me of Grant Schapps, who is fond of embellishing things quite a lot.
Rory Stewart was an officer for a year in his gap year between school and university. It does not say if he was in Afghanistan then in the army. It would be interesting to find out.

anno; perlease noooo! I'd forgotten all about George 'pussycat' Galloway till now .

POGS, I do not need to tell you my definition. Here is Rory Stewart himself.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2588500/Children-opium-masses-says-MP-Backbencher-hits-think-offspring-purpose-life-admits-wants-father-himself.html

Actually this thread has made me look into his history and the more I am reading the more I like him.

We will have to agree to disagree.

Jen I thought most MPs decided firstly they wanted to be an MP, and then found a constituency to represent.

If memory serves me correct, when I heard him talking about his walk through Afganistan it was after he left Iraq.

Anyone who doesn't realise that the purpose of life is to reproduce itself is a twit.

Bags it's not the only purpose of human life, though is it?
Surely our striving for knowledge and understanding is what separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom.

Bags, your comment about the purpose of life being to reproduce itself is a bit harsh . Our family is probably fairly typical, in that each generation has had members who failed to reproduce, despite a genuine desire to do so. Not everyone wants children, and I feel we should respect that choice.
Some of the posts on here suggest Rory can be accused of being a twit for some things, though I do like someone with a bit of adventure in their soul.

bags' does have a point, as we wouldn't have those options if we didn't reproduce ourself in sufficient numbers to keep our species going.

Hmm perhaps we should be thanking those large families who usually receive criticism for enabling some people to choose not to have children!

There is a strange sort of pressure these days for people to have children though, and not for the usual reasons ie baby bumps became fashionable and babies became fashion items. That became a difficult time for people who either couldn't have or chose not to have children. Have to admit though, that, with todays politicians being so totally guided by their spin doctors it's interesting to have a bit of a loose cannon in Parliament [other than the awful Farage bloke]. Guilty as I feel about it I'm still finding Rory fascinating; wonder what Spitting Images would have made of him; they'd've had a field day! He'd've been striding round Parliament with his Afghan hiking clobber on .

Of course my comment is a bit harsh and of course I don't mean it is the only purpose that we can give to our lives, but it's a fitting response to a politician's silly comment about opium of the masses.

I despise these clever dick twerps and their snooty dismissal of ordinary people.

But the press are too quick sometimes to pick up comments from people without giving the background to that comment. It's not his fault he was born into the higher eschelons of society and, unlike a lot of them he's trying to understand life 'on the other side' [not like Cameron who pretends to be 'just call me Dave,ordinary man of the people' who just happens to be stinking rich and priveliged]. Can't believe I'm defending a Toryboy; can only blame it on my age or something . I mean, I even like Michael [Tim, nice but dim] Portillo these days. Obviously key to success is making tv programmes .

I did wonder about background and meeja distortions, but if he said it he's still a twerp in my book. If he's clever and has had opportunities most people never have, he should be more careful of what he says in public. Otherwise, he's a twit, as I said.

Ok bags, comment accepted with grace (the one about the purpose of life that is).

Just seen your comment, Jane.
I believe that most MPs are politically aware and decide to become MPs after being local councillors. That's certainly the case for all but two MPs in Northumberland and Durham.
The only MP who had stood for other constituencies first before coming to the North East is Guy Opperman, who stood for Swindon North and Caernafon before coming to Hexham. He also happens to be the only Tory MP.
Helen Goodman had no connections to the North East, but all the others were miners, union reps or councillors here first.
Some of them came here to university and stayed, but most of them were born in the North East and represent people they know.
But I think you know what I meant.

jen will you please stop accusing me of knowing what you mean just because I have questioned one of your unsubstantiated statements.
Perhaps my views are coloured by the fact that Guy Opperman is my MP, but I don't think the North East is typical of the rest of the country.
Maybe we are just unlucky in Hexham.
A previous one was Alan Amos who was elected as a Conservative, but later transferred his allegiance to the Labour Party mid-term.

I still like him and I like to hear him speak in Parliament.

He was selected through the open primary process.

I think for a young man he has already led quite a fascinating life for heaven's sake.

Surely MP's come from all backgrounds, not necessarily miners, postmen, ships stewards nor councillors. I think of them as doctors, business men and women, ex forces, housewives etc.

It would be a bloody great big cock up if they were not from various backgrounds surely.

Most people's statements are unsubstantiated, Jane. They are just points of view.
POGS, I was giving a list of MPs in Northumberland and Durham, and substantiating my previous statement as Jane had commented on it. What I was saying was that they tend to represent the people they grew up with, rather than be parachuted in to a safe seat in the party. I was not saying that all MPs had to be miners or union members, although it does help in the North East.