Political parties get people of like backgrounds and aspirations together. In moderation they are good and have produced great national and local leaders when needed. But, we have had the two largest changing places for far too long with too much freedom to exploit the weaknesses they preside over. The vast majority have no part in them and there are not enough checks and balances on the power we give them. The rest of the world looked to Britain for leadership on democracy. Not any more.

BOOM, when our valuable national assets are made available to the international markets to pick the meat from at bargain prices. BUST when the day of reckoning inevitably comes, like now, and the dealers have left with the loot to tax free havens where they can finance the next round of cut price sales and we are left to pay the cost.

First and foremost they fight for their own survival and the majority of people they can persuade to vote for them ‘for their own sake’ have little personal stake in the success of either. They are necessary to make it happen.

It took a world war to get the NHS and it could now be in danger, along with the finest national broadcasting organisation in the world.

Without parties we would be worse off. Independent people, without the backing of parties, have little or no political power to get things done. This is obvious in my own parish. Our political system needs to spread power as wide as possible, in relation to groups with differing needs and points of view, for everybody to rightly feel they have a stake in its success. Even at local level.