OH DEAR, what have some Members of Parliament done? We all know about ‘sleeping dogs’, but when it comes to ‘sleeping giants’, this is a very different thing.

From a political standpoint we, the people, are just that. But this recent scandal over expenses has done exactly what we needed to rekindle our interest in who runs this country and how elected members act and behave on our behalf.

We are lucky if half of the people entitled to vote take the trouble to do so. Having put an ‘x’ on a ballot paper, they go home and ‘nod off’ for another four years.

Democracy is a hard-earned privilege, paid for by many brave men and women who gave their lives in two world wars, and others still doing so in far away lands as we speak.

If we vote for the party, rather than the quality and ability of the candidate, how can we be sure who or what we are voting for?

Good, true democracy is like a rose bush: it needs interest, involvement, and much tender loving care to be sure that it survives for future generations to enjoy and live as free men and women in a free land.

We all have a responsibility to play our part in protecting our democracy and must take some blame for standing back and just letting things slide.

Time to shoulder our share of the blame and stop pointing the finger at the people of our choice who got it wrong.

MAURICE SHEA Hadland Road Abingdon