FORGET Gordon Brown and David Cameron, people in Dorset would much rather see Joanna Lumley or Simon Cowell running the country.

TV presenter Esther Rantzen has already announced plans to stand against Luton South’s Margaret Moran, one of the MPs involved in the expenses scandal.

And, as we quizzed shoppers at Bournemouth’s Castlepoint over who they would vote for, it seems people would rather put their faith in celebrities than politicians.

Retired Valerie Alexander, 63, from Kinson, said: “I would vote for Joanna Lumley. What she’s done for the Ghurkas, I think that’s pretty good. She’s very forceful and she’s got that way about her.

Christine Beale, 64, a retired lunchtime supervisor from Throop, agreed.

She said: “I think they’re all hopeless at the moment. Most of them have been there such a long time.

“You need somebody new but with an interest in politics. Joanna Lumley is absolutely a good choice.

“She is more for the people.

“You need somebody for the people.”

Jo Rose, 32, from Moordown, thought Simon Cowell would make a good MP.

She said: “I just think he’s honest and up front and he says what he means.

“He would never take out of the kitty because he’s got a lot of money and he wouldn’t claim for a second home because he’s already got about four.”

Graham Gardener, 57, a Tesco worker from Throop, said he would vote for former athlete Sebastian Coe.

“He’s an icon of the athletics world,” he said.

“And the way he has sorted out the Olympics for London, he seems to be someone who gets the job done.

“He comes across as a very honest person who has worked hard for what he has done in sport.”

Liz Hills, 35, a pharmacist from Ferndown, thought businessman Richard Branson would make a good MP “because he always tries to champion England”, while Ann Murueta, 60, a secretary from central Bournemouth, suggested comedian Billy Connolly “because he tells it how it is”.

She added: “To be honest is the most important thing – he says exactly what’s on his mind. You need somebody who will stand up there and do that.”

Lindsay Shepherd, 52, a freelance advertiser from Redhill, said she would vote for actor Stephen Fry.

She said: “He’s intellectual, he seems to have some intelligence and he’s quite amusing as well.”

But celebrities didn’t always make the grade.

Bournemouth School pupil David Schuster, 17, said he would vote for his headmaster John Granger.

He said: “He’s a good administrator who uses the money well.

“The school has developed well over the years – for instance we’ve got a new maths block.

“He’s shown he can look after money and he has balanced judgement – he accepts what the MPs have done is bad but he can also see the other side of the argument.”

Retired Peter Horobin, 65, from Moordown, said nobody would make a better MP than himself.

“They’re all incompetent,” he said.

“I’m very logical, I’ve got a bit of common sense and I could do a better job.

“I wouldn’t be as corrupt.”

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