The merit of merit

I know that many voters are influenced by the good or bad looks of our politicians. I sat next to a female with the Guardian in hand on the day that Paddy Ashdown was elected leader. She told me that he was good-looking and she might vote for him.

You know my views on image from yesterday's blog but if you took the view that attractive politicians gain more votes then tomorrow's MPs should be working out in the gym rather than learning how to control an economy. If this is the case then women have the advantage over men and we wouldn't need women-only shortlists.

In yesterday's blog I wrote that what people believe and say is much more important than how they look. It is the same with the selection process for our future MPs and they too should be selected on merit.

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