Читать книгу Crap MPs - Dr. Grosvenor Bendor - Страница 12

(1769–1848) Old Sarum 1812–32

There may have been MPs in the unreformed days of Parliament who were more useless than James Alexander, but the accolade he receives here is not just for his own undoubted mediocrity. Uniquely, he is the only MP on this list who qualifies because of his constituency. Alexander was one of the last MPs for the seat of Old Sarum, the most glaring example of ‘pocket boroughs’ in the old electoral system before its reformation in 1832.

Old Sarum deserves its notorious reputation. Pocket boroughs were, literally, bought by wealthy proprietors, who were then able to make sure that the MPs were men who supported their interests. The Earl of Caledon bought Old Sarum in 1802. Just outside Salisbury, it was mostly a collection of old ditches and ramparts from a long-abandoned medieval settlement. In the borough, there were only three houses. You might think that living in the constituency would grant you the right to vote, but you would be wrong.

The Earl believed in ‘one man, one vote’ – just so long as that man was him. Attached to the borough were eleven ‘burgages’, which gave the holder the right to vote, and the Earl decided who held the burgages. These were granted to his friends and family, and in 1812, Caledon decided to elect his cousin, James Alexander, as one of the MPs. He knew the level of commitment he wanted from his Members, noting that if he decided to sell the borough, ‘I am sure they would cheerfully resign.’

Alexander lived down to the Earl’s expectations. He hardly ever spoke in Parliament, always voted with the government, supported the suspension of habeas corpus and defended the property tax. Caledon was so satisfied with his cousin that he exchanged estates with Alexander so that the MP took over the nominations. Unsurprisingly, he always elected himself. Although he has been justifiably forgotten by history, we feel that James Alexander deserves a special mention here: a crap MP for a crap constituency.