What a sad story - my condolences to her family. What a shame that jealousy and subsequent bullying led to this woman's death. This, sadly, is a reflection on the general culture in this country, whether in the workplace or in schools, and she is not the only casualty; so many good and gifted people withdraw from positions of leadership because of the poisonous environment, and we end up being led by talentless, callous, venomous, power-hungry idiots. I do believe the world of politics, in particular the world created by New Labour, has set the general pattern. A fundamental change is needed, hopefully starting at the top and creating a trickle-down effect that will have a good influence on society, and thereby avoid needless tragedies like this one.

Patricia, Bristol,

In the 90's I spent a couple of years working as a Councillor, full time and living on my savings, in return for an allowance of £57 per month. Spending two years helping some very poor and disadvantaged people was the best thing I have done or will do in my working life. NO WAY I would go on to stand for parliament. I earn more as a middle manager than I would in Parliament, I work a lot less hours, I don't have to be on show 24 x 7. Crucially, I don't have people following me around trying to work out who I am sleeping with or putting my young family under intense scrutiny, nor do I have to deal with the small poisonous minds that politics attract and I don't have to worry about losing my job because of political fashions. Local Government and Westminster simply does not attract talented people (not that I am talented!), most MPS and Councillors are mediocre in the extreme. Its simply too risky a job to be worth the bother.

Mike Hall, Gosport, Hantys

salam

aria, Isfahan, Iran

It behoves a country to nourish and help their leaders, emotionally as well as intellectually. In the end, if the 'normal' people are not supported to flourish, then it will be the despots who end up ruling, since they have no concern for family and clearly understand power and coruption.
What does it prove to destroy those who are willing to serve the people for non-selfish reasons? Abandon hope all you who do not mourn this brave woman. If the army treated its members the way the house treats its members, the Mazi's would be ruling to this day.

clancy mcquigg, washington dc, usa

I had allways liked the quote " That the house of commons was the best prison in the country, and that is was very effective at stopping its inmates from causing more harm elsewhere" As with so much of the country it would seem that the entry criteria are not so good as they used to be, and it no longer works as well at doing its primary job.

R Adams, Nottingham,

Ms Jones was killed by alcohol. Her death is no different from that of any other alcoholic who continued to drink - the cause and effect are not rocket science. There are over 30,000 sober, recovering alcoholics in the UK who chose to stop what they couldn't control.

Patrick Doherty, Stockport,

Again bullying takes another victim. Is it any surprise that the children of this nation grow up victimised in their schools when the adult representatives of our country indulge in destroying their colleagues? It is not enough to say 'they know what they are getting into'
It appears that the only people who are safe to enter politics are those who are insensitive and uncaring enough and who know how to appease or join in with the bullies.
It makes one proud to be British - NOT!!!

Michele, Cardiff,

I read about Ms. Jones in two British papers and both articles touched a nerve inside me. First of all, it is one of the saddest stories I have ever read, both the personal tragedy to her family and the loss of a public leader who perhaps had a passion for helping others, There is no honor in being mean and bullying anyone, politician or not. Why does this universal myth continue which says in so many words that a man is << forthright>> and a woman is a <<bitch/babe/backwench>> while doing the same job? Alot of these problems point to downright jealousy and utter hatred. Those party colleagues who did this were probably very insecure, outrageously arrogant and definitely beneath her. My sympathy to her family.

Janice-Marie MUNANGATIRE, CHICAGO, USA

Thanks for a fascinating Comment. The story is irresistibly reminiscent of Trollope's political novels. The cost of seeking power is high and those who seek power are not, by and large, pleasant people. Apart from the presence of women I am sure Trollope would have recognised this portrait of the House of Commons and its' inhabitants. Plus ca change.

Nick Hay, Birmingham, UK

Lets not get too silly about this shall we? Everyone to blame except the person herself is it? Nobody forces you to drink: it is a matter of personal choice and of PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. She was not 'alone' as she had a husband and two sons to care for her and for whom she should have been caring in turn. If you are a shrinking violet don't stand for Parliament; and if not up to public speaking amongst other MPs it is a very dim career move to have made. In the heady days of 1997 it looked as if most seats were potentially vulnerable to New Labour, so it would be foolish to stand without the game plan for actually winning. Finding and getting selected and then getting elected for a seat is a matter of tenacity, scheming and plotting. This is not some altruistic activity taken up by saintly people with much reluctance. That said, the circumstances do suggest a very real personal tragedy for which all decent people would empathise and sympathise; but no sob stories please.

Frankland Macdonald Wood, Sansepolcro 52037, Italy

Fiona Jones Rest In Peace. My thoughts are with you and your family at this very sad time.

Anon, Midlands, UK

First of all, I feel for this woman, her children and her husband. That means I have no intention of insulting her beyond the grave, as it were, but I think the article is almost insulting to anyone who hates their job, and has no choice in the matter. Not to mention soldiers, cleaners and the like, it would make me angry.

jondi Saka, London, UK

Terrorists will go nowhere. They are doomed to nothing. They are the scums of our world.

aria, Isfahan, Iran

I am sure Fiona Jones had a loving family who wanted nothing more than to be able to help her. Unfortunately she was an alcoholic and only she could help herself. Alcoholism is a desperate disease that is not selective. It mattered little that Mrs Jones was an MP she just didn't want to stop drinking, no doubt in complete denial of the pernicious condition that was killing her and destroying her family. I am sorry for her and desperately sorry for her family who I am sure have died a thousand deaths trying to persuade her to try and save herself.

Alison Lowrie, Newmarket, Suffolk

Yet again, when things go wrong for a high-profile woman, a female columnist plays the victim card for her.

Individual responsibility. She chose to become an MP and she chose to hit the bottle.

geoff, london,

I don't wish to seem unfeeling, but she was a Labour MP and hence willing to go along with, and even support, the vicious intolerance which Labour shows its enemies. And unlike most of those, helpless victims of unjust laws, she could have walked away from it at any moment.

Alex Swanson, Milton Keynes, UK

Sad, yes.

Jay, London,

Lady Astor had a rought time of it too, back in the "finest hours" days of Parliament, but the true villain is the mode of conduct and lack of ethical and moral grandeur which is entirely a function of the degeneration of the quality of public discourse in the political arena throughout the English-speaking world.

It's as if the helms of our various shops of state and their crew have been transformed in but fifty years' time from being expected to comport themselves as if before the stoic and objective eyes of History to carrying on like lager louts, thugs and hissy-fit sissy men out to hit a lady with their purses. Where were the elder statespersons to mentor this lady MP through her rookie term in Parliament? what happened to any form of Commons "noblesse oblige" to guide new players on the field?

I believe Commons shall meet its match if one of her sons picks up her sword and marches into the fray in her memory. Of such are new Churchills made (his Dad met a
similar fate).

Walt OBrien, Binghamton, New York, USA

If you look at what is actually produced. Ineffective laws, wasted spending, pointless restrictions on our liberty.
How many of us would be worse off if we did not have an MP?
What does your MP do for you? How is your life better?
Most of their problems are due to their own ineptitude. They pass a law then work out ways of trying to get round it for some constituent.
Why not do a proper job in the first place like the rest of us have do do otherwise we get sacked.
How about us getting our money back if a law does for fulfill some preset criteria. The money to be taken from the MP's salary.
How about some Performance Related Pay, like they want for the rest of us?
No I have no sympathy for this woman. She cut off all ties when she opted for £63,000 salary and £100,000 expenses. And the God given right to tell US what to do, with no fear of comeback.
Rot the lot of them.

John Blakey, Leeds , UK

Sorry- Fiona Jones must have had some expectation of being elected or why did she contest the election? And if she really was the weakling that Alice Miles makes her out to be, why on earth did her party select her? As for MPs not being able to live in their constituencies for fear of pressure, what rubbish. Is that also the reason they seem to be only rarely in the House of Commons too, going by what one sees on television? The chance even to meet one's MP without having to sign the party line first would be a step in the right direction. l have lived in Andrew Lansley's constituency for 15 years and I've never seen him in person, not even at a General election. So no sympathy for MPs from me or from anyone else I know.

Ann Keith, Cambridge,

I cannot agree with the other correspondent.
No-one expects being an MP easy job and there are no shortage of candidates willing to do it. But, if it is made too demanding, too underpaid, too insecure and subject to too much abuse, those people in the remaining pool of candidates may not be the best people to do the job. I would rather not be represented by a political monomaniac.

DM Davues, St Albans, UK

It is truly wrong to say that every time a woman fails it is because she was a lone crusader in a man's world. People fail in life because they are not up to their dreams and aspirations and though MP's may have long working days they also have long holidays that make the job little more than part time. This article is no more than another attempt to say how hard done by women are in this world but I for one will not buy it, life is hard for all but a few lucky ones.

Alan Grocock, huntingdon, cambs

It is time that MPs realised that there should not be one law for us and another for everyone else.

The limits on working hours in the Working Time directive should be rigorously imposed, and any politician who breaches them should be suspended from Parliament and silenced.

If there is more than 48 hours' work per week for an MP to do then the MP must prioritise, or employ someone else to do it. We cannot exclude people from the political process simply because they do not have the constitution of an ox.

Joseph Bruno, London,

Surely if you stand for election you must expect to win? I would. As for the 70 to 100 hour week there are our armed forces fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq putting in those hours too and for a damned sight less pay than an MP gets. Ok so being an MP is tough, but then you want it so you take the knocks as well as the perks.

Bill Glanvill, Horsham, W Sussex

Standing as a parliamentary candidate is a matter of personal choice.

Anyone considering this (an essential step before doing it) would carry out a personal risk assessment as to the downside. The responsibilities and lifestyle are not suitable for everyone, and sometimes it is necessary to say ‘no, it’s not for me.’

There are plenty of reported cases of members of parliament who have had far from satisfactory experience of the work which should have added information to choice

dr venables preller, Warminster, UK

Thank you Alice for writing this article. I campaigned for Fiona in 01 and knew her to be a hard working, and thoroughly decent woman. What has happened here is a real tragedy, and heartbreaking for her family.

To continue Anthony Gerard's points about the press, equally alarming was the local newspaper who, to quote her husbands comments expressed here yesterday.."a newspaper that Mrs. Jones threatened to sue because of their innacuracies and who later showed their political bias by refusing to print anything about her in the several months before the 2001 General Election". I think Mr. Jones was being very generous in his description here,some may have thought it spiteful, hateful,vindictive, shameful, and bullying.

Powerful newspaper editors surely ought to consider whether they owe a duty of care to those they choose to pursue, and reflect on their harsh contributions into the life of this woman that has now resulted in this awful consequence.

Carol Weller, Nottingham,

Thank you Alice for writing this article. I campaigned for Fiona in 01 and knew her to be a hard working, and thoroughly decent woman. What has happened here is a real tragedy, and heartbreaking for her family.

To continue Anthony Gerard's points about the press, equally alarming was the local newspaper who, to quote her husbands comments expressed here yesterday.."a newspaper that Mrs. Jones threatened to sue because of their innacuracies and who later showed their political bias by refusing to print anything about her in the several months before the 2001 General Election". I think Mr. Jones was being very generous in his description here,some may have thought it spiteful, hateful,vindictive, shameful, and bullying.

Powerful newspaper editors surely ought to consider whether they owe a duty of care to those they choose to pursue, and reflect on their harsh contributions into the life of this woman that has now resulted in this awful consequence.

Carol Weller, Nottingham,

Doubtless a tragedy, however I fail to see how the job is any tougher on a woman than a man and implictly disagree with the comment "particularly for female MPs, who almost invariably feel the demands of family and the guilt of absence from their children more strongly than their male colleagues". What you are in effect saying is that men do not miss their families as much as women and that this can affect a woman's performance in a job - this is sexist to both men and women and once more portrays women as victims when they cannot cope. This is a sad story of a human being who struggled to cope in a tough environment, as has Charles Kennedy - let's not make seek to make excuses because she happens to be female.

Doug Bates, St. Albans,

Sad !

Robert J M BARRETT, HERTFORD, GB

Perhaps you're right that some MPs don't cope because they do not have the staff and resources to deal with the expectations the public place upon them - the sheer torrent of letters, e-mails and telephone calls, helping to sort out individual difficulties, before they even begin to get on with political campaigning. There is frequent sniping about MP's expenses, but it is those expenses which are essential to do their job. Perhaps the press should encourage such expense ? I think there is a more fundamental problem, though, to which you allude. MPs who are separated from their families during the week lack the basic support mechanism that a family can provide. Constituencies which stipulate their MP must leave the family alone and apart from them are storing up potential trouble. If you are right that some MPs now feel they cannot live in the constituencies which they serve (and that is not my experience) there is something even more wrong with the system in which they work.

Alicia Collinson, Ashford, UK

A sad end to a very sad woman. Parliament demands a lot of politicians and their families. We, the electors owe them a great debt of gratitude. I can only imagine how her famiy coped with her but am sure they took the best care of her. My symphathies are with them.

Phil, Waltham Abbey,

I have to say that I don't believe this story as it is presented. If there is a person who, with two sons and a husband, no money or health worries, could end up like this, then they are so exceptional as to be of no general concern. It thus doesn't say anything of note, though it might be implying that a commitment at Westminster can follow you remorselessly, should you have the misfortune to attract the wrong type of attention. MPs naturally like to think they have a tough life, but it is all in the mind. Their material circumstances are altogether privileged and few seem to leave voluntarily.

Henry Percy, London, UK

I'll bet you wouldn't have had the same amount of sympathy if this had been a male ex-MP.

My constituency MP is a "Blair babe" clone who votes the party line regardless. Who appears in the local press only in the three months prior to the general election. Who waits to see which way the wind blows before deciding "her" view. For this unstinting towing of the line she has been rewarded by the whips office with a PPS position.

At least the Whips know her worth. It's a pity the local Labour party don't. Maybe if it had been a male they would?

Markham Weavill, Huddersfield, England

This story says less about the culture of Westminster in particular and more about the culture of women in the workplace. Bitchiness and insecurity are not limited to female MPs but can be found in any office in the land with more than one female employee.

If female MPs are not willing to make sacrifices when it comes to family then perhaps they should decide whether they want to have a family or a career..

Richard Beesaley, London, England

Boo hoo! This is all part of the price one pays for becoming an MP, and quite simply if you can't stand the heat then get out of the kitchen! While Fiona may not have realistically expected to become an MP, surely anyone standing for election has at least a hope of winning, and as such she should have known what she was signing up for. We do our MPs a disservice by attempting to mollycoddle them, and if they can't take it... no one is forcing them to stand!

Dominic Graham de Montrose, London,

People run for ofice because they feel they know more than the average bloke.I have no sympathy for them when they find out they really don't.Fiona Jones was avictim of her own inflated ego.

RON, topsham,

You neglect to mention the role which the media plays in creating this culture. Papers like the Daily Mail mercilessly attacked Fiona Jones after news of her electoral expenses broke. Once the tabloid papers scent blood they go in for the kill - and in this instance a death was the tragic consequence. Mass selling papers set the agenda on crime, taxes, immigration and conduct in public life. Editors feel that they must hold public servants to an impeccable standard - yet Editors face no such scrutiny themselves when it comes to their targeting of politicians whom they dislike. Politicians, unlike wealthy celebrities, rarely sue Newspapers - and some Editors see this a green light to go on an ever ending attack. A previous owner of the Mail said that his job was to give his readers a daily dose of hate. Richard Littlejohn recently remarked that the five prostitutes murdered in Ipswich " weren't much of a loss". Sadly, much of the popular press, places little value on human life.

Anthony Gerard, London, England

It is hard to have much sympathy with people who become members of parlament and then can't cope! These elected representatives are the best our society can breed - at least in theory. They have to be tough if only to deal in a hard world and with people like me. I would have no compunction at all in cutting an MP down to size - not because I am unfeeling but because I would assume his/her experience far outweighed my own. I have not had all that much sympathy in my own 40 year travels around the world, and am not sure why MPs should be mollycoddled in the way you suggest!

Brian Lewis, Manila, Philippines

I, too, found this truly shocking. One tends to forget that MPs are real people with their own personal problems.

Steven Roberts, Waltham Cross, England