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| Sarah Wollaston: 'I was elected to speak my mind. So why does Cameron keep ignoring me?' | Sarah Wollaston: 'I was elected to speak my mind. So why does Cameron keep ignoring me?' |
| (4 months later) | |
| She was hailed at the time as a shining example of David Cameron's "new politics". A country GP and mother of three from Dartmoor, Sarah Wollaston seemed to be precisely what Westminster and the Conservative party needed after the MPs' expenses scandal. She was from the real world, she had long experience of the National Health Service, she is dedicated to public service, and to cap it all she had been chosen as parliamentary candidate for Totnes not by party officials but "by the people", in the first ever direct "open primary" held in the Conservative party. | She was hailed at the time as a shining example of David Cameron's "new politics". A country GP and mother of three from Dartmoor, Sarah Wollaston seemed to be precisely what Westminster and the Conservative party needed after the MPs' expenses scandal. She was from the real world, she had long experience of the National Health Service, she is dedicated to public service, and to cap it all she had been chosen as parliamentary candidate for Totnes not by party officials but "by the people", in the first ever direct "open primary" held in the Conservative party. |
| Back in 2009 every registered voter in Totnes was sent a form and a paid envelope to return it, as the selection process was thrown open to the people. After Wollaston won the candidacy under a system that David Cameron said would "bust open" the old closed methods of selection, Tory chairman Eric Pickles declared himself "tickled pink". | Back in 2009 every registered voter in Totnes was sent a form and a paid envelope to return it, as the selection process was thrown open to the people. After Wollaston won the candidacy under a system that David Cameron said would "bust open" the old closed methods of selection, Tory chairman Eric Pickles declared himself "tickled pink". |
| Four years on, however, the "real people in politics" revolution, of which Wollaston was supposed to be part, has failed to materialise. In fact, it has been put in reverse. As evidence, the Observer has learned that coalition plans to extend the open primary system to 200 selections across all parties – plans explicitly mentioned in the coalition agreement – have been quietly shelved. | Four years on, however, the "real people in politics" revolution, of which Wollaston was supposed to be part, has failed to materialise. In fact, it has been put in reverse. As evidence, the Observer has learned that coalition plans to extend the open primary system to 200 selections across all parties – plans explicitly mentioned in the coalition agreement – have been quietly shelved. |
| Sitting in her small office in Westminster, Wollaston is clearly annoyed and intends to persuade Downing Street to change its mind and pilot new forms of the scheme. The explanations for the change of heart are vague, but the estimated cost of £40,000 per selection is part of the reason. It is also said that Cameron went off the idea when he realised it produced MPs like Wollaston who have minds of their own. Since she arrived at Westminster, Wollaston has spoken out on NHS reform and public health, as that is what she thought she was there to do and why she came to Westminster. As a result she has been cast adrift and the brakes have been put on the process that delivered her. "Open primaries are being kicked down the road," she says pointedly. "I am seeking a meeting with Nick Clegg." | Sitting in her small office in Westminster, Wollaston is clearly annoyed and intends to persuade Downing Street to change its mind and pilot new forms of the scheme. The explanations for the change of heart are vague, but the estimated cost of £40,000 per selection is part of the reason. It is also said that Cameron went off the idea when he realised it produced MPs like Wollaston who have minds of their own. Since she arrived at Westminster, Wollaston has spoken out on NHS reform and public health, as that is what she thought she was there to do and why she came to Westminster. As a result she has been cast adrift and the brakes have been put on the process that delivered her. "Open primaries are being kicked down the road," she says pointedly. "I am seeking a meeting with Nick Clegg." |
| Wollaston is too comfortable in her own skin to be bitter. In many ways she loves her new job, particularly "lobbying shamelessly" for her West Country constituents, and will stand again at the next election. But she repeatedly talks of her frustration and disappointment. "The thing I find most frustrating here is that what's really valued in politics is absolute loyalty, and I am often told that in saying things that are awkward I am damaging the chances of some of my colleagues being re-elected. I am told that what the public want to see is a united front. Well, I think we need to change the narrative. I think the public dislike the cardboard cutout, the lobby fodder, the sycophantic [planted] questions [in the Commons] … they don't like it." | Wollaston is too comfortable in her own skin to be bitter. In many ways she loves her new job, particularly "lobbying shamelessly" for her West Country constituents, and will stand again at the next election. But she repeatedly talks of her frustration and disappointment. "The thing I find most frustrating here is that what's really valued in politics is absolute loyalty, and I am often told that in saying things that are awkward I am damaging the chances of some of my colleagues being re-elected. I am told that what the public want to see is a united front. Well, I think we need to change the narrative. I think the public dislike the cardboard cutout, the lobby fodder, the sycophantic [planted] questions [in the Commons] … they don't like it." |
| Wollaston's serene, stately demeanour and calm delivery contrasts with the sharpness of her comments. She appears unworried about how her party will react, content with her mission to speak her mind, however politically inconvenient that might be. When she heard that the government was dropping plans for minimum pricing for alcohol, she asked for a meeting with Cameron at prime minister's questions. But she says his office have ignored her emails and cancelled meetings. "I have phoned repeatedly and emailed – that is just the way it is. Sometimes they come back, and then it has been cancelled. He is a busy man and it will happen, but I personally think public health is very important." | Wollaston's serene, stately demeanour and calm delivery contrasts with the sharpness of her comments. She appears unworried about how her party will react, content with her mission to speak her mind, however politically inconvenient that might be. When she heard that the government was dropping plans for minimum pricing for alcohol, she asked for a meeting with Cameron at prime minister's questions. But she says his office have ignored her emails and cancelled meetings. "I have phoned repeatedly and emailed – that is just the way it is. Sometimes they come back, and then it has been cancelled. He is a busy man and it will happen, but I personally think public health is very important." |
| She can hardly believe that she – like someone invited to a party but then snubbed by the host – is being cast as a rebel for doing what she was elected to do. "I do regret that a lot of my colleagues now view me as being awkward because I am genuinely not trying to be awkward. I try to do things through what are beautifully known here as the 'usual channels' but the reality is that you can go through the 'usual channels' and you do not get any response at all." | She can hardly believe that she – like someone invited to a party but then snubbed by the host – is being cast as a rebel for doing what she was elected to do. "I do regret that a lot of my colleagues now view me as being awkward because I am genuinely not trying to be awkward. I try to do things through what are beautifully known here as the 'usual channels' but the reality is that you can go through the 'usual channels' and you do not get any response at all." |
| For Cameron, under criticism from many in his party for listening too much to a clique of Old Etonians and trusted friends, such comments are hardly what he wants to hear. Neither are her views on leadership. She cites the public's reaction to Margaret Thatcher's death as evidence that people want leaders with more conviction. Does Cameron, who snatched her from her previous life, show such conviction? She is measured but clear in her answer. "Undoubtedly he is articulate, he is intelligent, he is calm under pressure, he does the statesmanship very well. I think people trust him on those things, but actually on issues like this [policy on public health], it is a barometer of conviction." | For Cameron, under criticism from many in his party for listening too much to a clique of Old Etonians and trusted friends, such comments are hardly what he wants to hear. Neither are her views on leadership. She cites the public's reaction to Margaret Thatcher's death as evidence that people want leaders with more conviction. Does Cameron, who snatched her from her previous life, show such conviction? She is measured but clear in her answer. "Undoubtedly he is articulate, he is intelligent, he is calm under pressure, he does the statesmanship very well. I think people trust him on those things, but actually on issues like this [policy on public health], it is a barometer of conviction." |
| Asked if she feels she was naive to believe her leader's talk of a "new politics" enriched by professionals from outside, she says she never expected Westminster to be a "bed of roses where everyone is nice to you". But she admits that she has learned a lot in a hurry. "The frustrating thing as someone who comes in from outside is that you realise that people who come through the political sausage machine are like fish in water here. | Asked if she feels she was naive to believe her leader's talk of a "new politics" enriched by professionals from outside, she says she never expected Westminster to be a "bed of roses where everyone is nice to you". But she admits that she has learned a lot in a hurry. "The frustrating thing as someone who comes in from outside is that you realise that people who come through the political sausage machine are like fish in water here. |
| "From day one they arrive understanding how the system works, whereas someone like me spends a lot of time banging their heads against the wall and soon you just realise that a lot of things that happen here happen in rooms to which you are not invited. That is the issue. I think it is part of the way that women here tend to get overlooked because the system is kind of blind to the way these networks work." | "From day one they arrive understanding how the system works, whereas someone like me spends a lot of time banging their heads against the wall and soon you just realise that a lot of things that happen here happen in rooms to which you are not invited. That is the issue. I think it is part of the way that women here tend to get overlooked because the system is kind of blind to the way these networks work." |
| She has a fearless quality and seems to enjoy being a fly on the wall of Westminster life, able to relate its absurdities back to the real world. The way bills are put through parliament is ridiculous, she says. "I am never put on a delegated legislation committee on something which I could contribute to. The classic case was when I was put on one on double taxation in Oman. I know nothing about double taxation in Oman." | She has a fearless quality and seems to enjoy being a fly on the wall of Westminster life, able to relate its absurdities back to the real world. The way bills are put through parliament is ridiculous, she says. "I am never put on a delegated legislation committee on something which I could contribute to. The classic case was when I was put on one on double taxation in Oman. I know nothing about double taxation in Oman." |
| Then there is the farce of voting in the Commons, which she says is so archaic, complex and controlled by whips that MPs often have little clue what they are approving or rejecting, and little or no freedom of choice were they to find out. "It is arcane that we have to file past men or women sitting on Victorian high stools," she says. "You are encouraged – it is the same for all parties – not to worry about what it is you're voting for because the whips are there to guide you." | Then there is the farce of voting in the Commons, which she says is so archaic, complex and controlled by whips that MPs often have little clue what they are approving or rejecting, and little or no freedom of choice were they to find out. "It is arcane that we have to file past men or women sitting on Victorian high stools," she says. "You are encouraged – it is the same for all parties – not to worry about what it is you're voting for because the whips are there to guide you." |
| She feels sorry for the Liberal Democrat MP Julian Huppert who is jeered at, for no apparent reason, by MPs every time he rises to speak in the Commons. "The Commons is like swimming with sharks. If there is a drop of blood in the water, off they go. I have seen MPs taunted because of their regional accents. If that happened in any other workplace, you would be sacked." | She feels sorry for the Liberal Democrat MP Julian Huppert who is jeered at, for no apparent reason, by MPs every time he rises to speak in the Commons. "The Commons is like swimming with sharks. If there is a drop of blood in the water, off they go. I have seen MPs taunted because of their regional accents. If that happened in any other workplace, you would be sacked." |
| But her main complaint is that the reason she was told she was wanted has turned out to be the reason for her being increasingly ignored. "The real point is that if you are not agreeing with something you are seen as the problem, rather than the problem being the issue you are complaining about. | But her main complaint is that the reason she was told she was wanted has turned out to be the reason for her being increasingly ignored. "The real point is that if you are not agreeing with something you are seen as the problem, rather than the problem being the issue you are complaining about. |
| "We would all have a better kind of politics if we did not absolutely, out of hand, reject people who say there is another way of doing things." | "We would all have a better kind of politics if we did not absolutely, out of hand, reject people who say there is another way of doing things." |
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