Letter to TEH responding to comments by Denis MacShane, MP for Rotherham
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A letter toTimes Higher Education was published on 2 July stating that:
During the Commons debate on human trafficking on 18 May 2011, Denis MacShane, MP for Rotherham, quoting from the list of essay titles for an academic political theory course at the London School of Economics, accused a distinguished professor, Anne Phillips FBA, of being unable to tell the difference between waged work and prostitution, and of filling the minds of students with poisonous drivel. Fiona Mactaggart, MP for Slough, agreed, accusing Phillips of holding nauseating views on that issue.
The ineptitude of this exchange - which is now for ever on the official Hansard record - is extraordinary. Students are asked why we should distinguish between the sale of ones labour and the sale or letting of ones body. That condones neither the latter nor the former. It encourages students to reflect on how to draw an important line between things appropriate and things inappropriate for market exchange. Asking such questions, far from being nauseating, is central to public debate about policy and legislation. If MPs cannot tell the difference between an essay problem and an assertion of belief, how can we trust them to legislate effectively?
Parliamentary debate is a cornerstone of our constitution and political culture. However, using the privilege of a parliamentary platform ignorantly in order to traduce the reputation of a teacher of political theory is a dereliction of office.
The letter was signed by many academics, including the following from the Department of Politics and International Relations:
