Wednesday, September 08, 2010

David Ruffley MP on the road to recovery?

Following his accident in June, our local MP, David Ruffley, has been recuperating, whilst the two neighbouring MPs have been taking surgeries for him. 
Now, the East Anglian Daily Times is reporting that he is expected to return, albeit gradually, to duty, starting from next month.

I'm quite pleased to hear the news, as any constituency deserves to be properly represented in Parliament. However, I hope that David isn't rushing his return. Depression is not easily overcome, and the external pressures to return to work can be difficult to resist, especially by those with a sense of duty. One therefore presumes that the Conservative Whips will manage his return so as to ensure that he doesn't experience any setbacks on the road to a complete recovery.

The idea that Members of Parliament might be people too is, seemingly, a difficult one for the media and, regrettably, some of the public to understand. Yet, the incidence of mental health issues is likely to be similar to that of the general population, and perhaps worse, given the public nature of the job, the unsocial hours, the separation from family, just to name three factors.

We do seem to demand that our representatives are wholly without sin, so to speak, and I increasingly wonder what will happen if media pressure drives out those who would rather not have their lives picked apart for public consumption.

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