Labour and Conservative MPs have deep ideological differences based on where we come from and different experiences of life. There should be mutual respect between political opponents and it is then up to the voters to choose between competing alternative views of society and its future.
But every now and then I see parts of the Conservative Party on show which remind me that they can be "the nasty party" as the Conservative Home Secretary Theresa May once said.
This came home to me in a recent Commons debate on trade unions in which the ugly face of what I call the British Tea Party was on display.
A gaggle of Tory backbench backwoodsmen bayed against workplace union representatives as if they were Bolshevik agitators.
There are maybe 200,000 people who hold various voluntary positions in workplaces nationwide.
Their employers allow them some time off to carry out their tasks. We are talking about a little time here and there.
A recent government survey also found that union reps in the public sector contribute up to 100,000 unpaid hours of their own time each week. The TUC estimates that 1 in 6 union reps say less than a quarter of the time they spend on union duties is paid by their employer.
There will always be low-level conflicts and grievances and union reps help by advising their members, formally representing them in grievance and disciplinary hearings and negotiating with managers.
Many of these volunteers have acquired expertise in policing health and safety, training, equality and even environmental standards. Union members and members of the public who use public buildings and facilities are all protected in this way.
We hear much about the Big Society but some Tories then round on members of one of the biggest armies of volunteers whose work saves millions by cutting working days lost to injury and illness, avoiding employment tribunal cases, encouraging the take-up of training and improving productivity.
The bosses' group, the CBI says that union reps constitute a major resource and that modern representatives have a lot to give to their fellow employees and to the organisations that employ them.
As a life-long trade union member I will uphold their positive contribution to making our society fairer and richer.
Newcastle Chronicle and Journal
| Promoted by Ken Childs on behalf of Ian Mearns, 12 Regent Terrace Gateshead NE8 1LU |