Vote early, vote often

My attention has been brought to the Politics Show Political Heroes Poll, currently running here.

Obviously I've cast my vote for Tony Benn who is currently at second place behind one M. Thatcher (you may think this is abhorrent and take it on yourself to vote too... be my guest), but the thing that really caught my eye on this is that the seven options are all people who could have been on the list not just ten years ago but twenty.

Personally I think it's a reflection on the Politics Show that people like Shirley Williams and Norman Tebbitt got onto the virtual ballot paper in the first place rather than a demonstration of how politics is stuck in the eighties BUT it is difficult to spot the current MP who might fit the description of hero.

As far as I can tell the Channel Four Political Awards nominations are still open (see previous) which have far more weight and meaning, as these things go. I'd like to encourage you to nominate someone who is not only an all round good egg, but also isn't someone who's been politically fossilised in the manner of those the Politics Show want to hold up as current day political role models.