Advance notice of last week’s Panorama broadcast precipitated the resignation from the Conservative Party of Patrick Mercer MP, resulting in one less Conservative MP in the House of Commons. At the time of his resignation and prior to the broadcast, Patrick Mercers Conservative colleague Mark Spencer said “I think he’s a fairly honourable man”. He was not without other friends as his Early Day Motion 1249 required 4 seconders. Of these one was Mike Hancock who was a member of the Lib Dems before resigning the whip to fight his own battle on another matter and then three Labour MPs.

Along with Patrick Mercer and Mike Hancock in the Commons, John Laird (or Lord Laird) is now flying solo having resigned from the Ulster Unionist Party. Until recently the Commons had another well known name without a party whip in the form of Nadine Dorries and in the Lords there are several disgraced Peers including Lord Archer and Lord Hanningfield. However no one would seriously compare these legislators with Independent MPs such as Martin Bell who served in Tatton from 1997 to 2001 following the appalling behaviour of Neil Hamilton, or Cross Bench Peers such as Baronesses Manningham-Buller or Grey-Thompson.

Whilst none of the peers need to be re-elected and the MPs will all retire or be back in their party at the next election the idea of them eaking out their remaining period as pseudo-Independents does not fit comfortably with many of us. In the absence of a recall policy we need to find a term that distinguishes people such as Patrick Mercer from any men and women who choose to stand as honourable Independents in forthcoming elections. Hopefully David Cameron and his colleagues on the front bench will pay serious attention to this article  by Tory MP Sarah Wollaston in Mondays Guardian, but in the meantime lets not give people like Patrick Mercer who have been rejected by their party the honour of being called an Independent!