IN the long hard struggle for democracy in these islands, nothing looms larger, or smells more rank, than the scandal of the so-called “rotten boroughs”.

These were places long de-populated but still sending MPs to Parliament. Sometimes more than one. With just seven voters, Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, nevertheless had two MPs. Dunwich, in Norfolk, largely lost to the sea, was similarly over-represented.

Not that the handful of locals benefited. These seats were essentially a gift of the Crown, which allocated them to cronies. They formed the ruling elite, whose members used Parliament chiefly to further their own interests. Meanwhile, emerging cities, such as Birmingham and Manchester, had no MP at all.

It was an honourable politician, William Pitt the Elder (1708 – 1778), who gave these “boroughs” their memorable tag. He denounced them as “the rotten part of the constitution.” But it was not until 1832 that they were swept away, against stiff opposition from many at the top, not least the Duke of Wellington, who regarded the spread of democracy as the end of civilisation.

Since then, of course, we’ve achieved a full flowering of democracy - votes for women etc. We can sit back and enjoy a job well done – a model for the rest of the world, as we like to present it. There could be nothing today as rotten as the rotten boroughs, could there?

Ah well, best not to deceive ourselves. An almighty stench emanates from the House of Lords. Rotten to the core. Overflowing with placemen – and women - of the main parties. Chiefly Tory and Labour who, when in power, play leapfrog over each other in the Lords, attempting to manipulate it to their advantage.

So David Cameron has just appointed 26 new Tory peers, with another 19 shared out to give a semblance of balance. But not a single life peer for Ukip, despite the party recording 60 per cent more votes in the general election than the Lib Dems, who were awarded 11.

It’s the rotten borough in a new guise – a second chamber so bloated its 831 members make it second only to the Chinese National People’s Congress (think of all those hands clapping in unison) as the biggest legislative chamber in the world.

You have to wonder about the members. Plainly expected to tow the party line, none of the political peers can call their soul their own. But the rot, the stench, stems from outside the chamber – No 10 Downing Street. David Cameron, and all who lend themselves to this blatant abuse of democracy, including the newly-ennobled former Foreign Secretary William Hague, should be ashamed of themselves – to the core.

IT’S “back to school” time- but maybe not for much longer. David Cameron wants every school to be an academy. So it could soon be “back to the academy” time. Also, parent addressing child: “Get up, you’ll be late for the academy.” And of course there’ll be “the academy run.”

PEOPLE disappointed by the cancellation of the airshow at Teesside Airport (best name – hint) need not be deprived of aerobatics. They can watch lapwings. Or bats. Or kestrels. All perform feats of flight far more spectacular than any by an airplane.