October 9, 2025

Being an MP feeds your vanity and starves your self-respect.

Matthew Parris (1949– ), British Conservative politician and journalist, in The Times, 9 February 1994, Jay p.286

How long after you were first elected did you realize your self-respect was in starvation mode?

The people who see “M.P.” after your name may be impressed, thinking you are a mover and shaker. But you soon know the truth. Those officers of most parliaments and congresses, the ones who enforce party discipline, are called “whips” for a reason!