JUDGING by our (rather small, admittedly) straw poll today, a lot of people have not only been galvanised by the expenses scandal, they’ve also developed a wider interest in politics and government.

Whether or not this will last much beyond the current controversy is the big question, though I suspect it will.

David Cameron’s pledge to open up the Conservative selection process to newcomers who have no background in politics or the party itself is surely going to help, as long as it isn’t just a quick headline-grabbing gimmick to keep the hapless Gordon Brown on the backfoot.

Cameron’s initiative is aimed at dealing with the public anger and frustration over so-called professional politicians and at a system which demands that MPs are, by and large and with a few notable exceptions, party robots, lobby fodder, or whatever else you want to call them.

When Blair was elected in 1997 he was determined to enforce party discipline in Parliament so as not to suffer the same fate as the ineffective John Major.

Blair’s ruthless approach earned him the nickname Stalin among some of his colleagues.

Cameron may not be quite so happy if, as Prime Minister, he has a whole bunch of MPs sitting behind him who decide to ignore his wishes and do their own thing.

But then perhaps the days of the partyocracy in this country really are numbered.