Fine Print: Is Your MP a Psychopath?
'It may be too extreme to suggest that many of our MPs are psychopaths, some are just plain selfish, but there may potentially be a few that linger.'
Roxanne Brealey, Senior Sub-Editor, BA History and Politics 03/02/2025
On the 20th of January 2025, Trump was written into the history books- as the 47th President of the United States of America and, the first convicted felon to be sworn into the Presidential office. Many watched on in fear as a convicted felon took to the stage to be reinstalled as the most politically powerful figure in America, but also, in subsequent shock as Elon Musk performed a Nazi salute.
UK politics does not seem as bad, at least we don’t have an elected leader who is a convicted felon, but that’s not exactly a high bar. Whilst the state of politicians in the UK is comparatively better than the US, we cannot doubt that we have elected some pretty dubious individuals into the House of Commons.
Witnessing bad behaviour amongst the green benches of the chamber is a common feature of parliamentary sessions, whether that be Jacob Rees-Mogg lounging across three seats during a parliamentary debate, or Neil Parish deciding to watch porn ‘in a moment of madness’. The latter example being quite a serious violation of the Indecent Displays Act of 1981. Again and again, stories about MPs committing crimes or having a dodgy past are cropping up at considerably high rates -considering that there are only 650 of them. Understandably, MPs will face more publicity and scrutiny than the average person as they are our elected representatives but, the number of incidents occurring daily must be telling of something. The question still stands, why are MPs committing so many crimes?
The list of MPs convicted of crimes goes on and on, but so does the list of names of those who have not been held accountable. Most notably, Cyril Smith, a Liberal Democrat MP for the constituency of Rochdale (1972-1992) was unmasked to the public as a serial paedophile in 2010, two years after his death. His actions are particularly repugnant, abusing young and vulnerable boys. Whilst his actions were not known to the public, they were known to members of parliament and MI5. Alas, no formal inquiries were launched into the allegations. The lack of inquiry into the allegations meant his 1988 knighthood was unopposed.
Fast-forward to the present day there still seems to be a limited culture of accountability. MPs committing similar crimes are still being promoted to high levels of government. Take Chris Pincher, who was promoted to Deputy Chief Whip and later found guilty of sexual misconduct. It was later uncovered that Boris Johnson was aware of these allegations, whilst apparently joking ‘pincher by name, pincher by nature’ and then subsequently promoting him. These examples demonstrate the abuse of power on two levels, those committing the crimes, and those who dismiss them and enable further abuse to continue.
The list goes on. Imran Ahmad Khan (Wakefield) was convicted of sexual misconduct, Mikes Amesbury (Runcorn and Helsby) was arrested for beating a man up on the street- while a whole brigade of MPs broke lockdown laws during the COVID pandemic to party. But what’s wrong with the MPs we keep electing? Two answers; some are just incredibly flawed on an individual level and the culture of parliament is rotten.
It may be too extreme to suggest that many of our MPs are psychopaths, some are just plain selfish, but there may potentially be a few that linger. Psychopaths are particularly attracted to positions of power as it enables them to control others. Whether that be the position of a CEO or high-flying politicians, most appear to be viable routes for a psychopath to bite their teeth into. Hervey Cleckley, a world-renowned American psychiatrist, claimed that the four key hallmarks of psychopathy are; superficial charm, lack of remorse, egocentricity and an absolute refusal to take accountability.
You cannot tell me that at least one politician's name does not come instantly to mind. All of these traits are beneficial when working your way up the greasy pole, they enable you to be absolutely brutal.
Studies on this estimate that there are anywhere from four to a hundred times more psychopaths in leadership positions in comparison to the general public, although the big disparity between these figures does suggest that they are not concrete and that further testing should be done. The types of psychopaths can be further broken down into successful and unsuccessful categories. Unsuccessful psychopaths are those who cannot control themselves and end up in prison such as Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer. The successful psychopaths are those who can control their impulses and exert control less violently, in particular, in public office. However, it should be noted that psychopathy exists on a spectrum, and it is very rare for individuals to find themselves on the extreme end.
Now, there are also MPs who do not enter parliament as complete and utter psychopaths and end up doing things they regret. Lord Acton, an English historian is known for the infamous quote “All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely”, which may help explain why some MPs leave parliament with a diminished moral record. Affairs and sex scandals are a cautionary tale in British politics- and are a major indicator of a rotten Westminster culture. Their elected status of MPs gives them a sense of entitlement, disavowing them of normal human boundaries. Their elected status gives them the apparent privilege of making and breaking the law simultaneously.
Take Geraint Davies, the former MP for Swansea West, who boasted that he brought sex workers into parliament for some drinks, which whilst not illegal, is certainly perverse behaviour. In January 2025, one of the parliamentary bars closed down, due to a parliamentary researcher getting spiked.
I cannot formally diagnose anyone with psychopathy but a psychological explanation could tell us why MPs are committing so many crimes, enabling abuse and lying to the electorate. Some MPs may actually be psychopaths or hold some of the personality traits, and for that reason parliament does need a safeguarding mechanism against this type of behaviour. Not everyone is a psychopath though, so the intrinsic rotten culture is also a key player in this diagnosis. Change is required in order for UK citizens to have the representation they deserve.
