Voting at their party's call

I share Richard Newby's concern about the inability of leaders to identify and admit error (Peninsula News, April 20).

I attribute it to the impotence of the parliaments.

The members are prisoners of executives so there is no objective body that can call into question the actions and statements of Ministers.

We elect at great expense hundreds of MPs to represent us at State and Federal level.

Once they take up their seats, they only represent their parties.

Like sheep, they vote in divisions the herder dictates, publicly questioning nothing that Cabinets concoct in the interests of their paymasters.

As songwriter WS Gilbert wrote: "I always voted at my party's call and never thought for myself at all."

It is high time that MPs freed themselves from party dominance then the deceivers will be brought to the book.

They are paid by us, not the parties.

Jack Forward, Wamberal