A week ago, in an article in Conservative Home, Roger Helmer a fellow Conservative laid a little too thick on Louise Mensch MP another fellow Conservative. I will not dwell on everything Helmer said here

However, one thing he said stayed with me, and that is reading and commending the Guardian or any left leaning paper for that matter is bordering on treachery. I find that thinking a little puzzling. Because, in politics like with most other professions, information is power and knowledge is a skill gained and perfected by learning how and what all sectors of the society, especially those with opposite views to our own, think.

It therefore, goes to reason, for politicians of every hue to equally read and study what agrees and disagrees with their own beliefs. A successful politician, especially an elected representative, must have a broad understanding of the issues and an empathy with all their electorates.