Before The Argus was computerised 30 years ago, its library consisted mainly of cuttings stored in brown envelopes going back to well before the Second World War.

Guess who had the most cuttings on file? Was it Muhammed Ali, the Queen, Nicholas Hoogstraten, Sir Winston Churchill?

The answer is Sir Andrew Bowden, Conservative MP for Brighton Kemptown, who at that time had more than 3,000 cuttings on file. Second was his predecessor, Dennis Hobden, the first Labour MP in Sussex.

These MPs were household names in Brighton and indeed a fair bit of neighbouring Sussex. When The Argus wrote stories about them it was sufficient simply to use their surnames in headlines on the assumption that nearly everyone would know who they were.

Indeed, when Hobden was the MP, a poll carried out by The Argus revealed that 99 per cent of readers could identify him, the highest figure in Britain.

Being an MP in those days carried with it a lot of kudos. You might disagree with Hobden when he called for closer ties with the Soviet Union or with Bowden on his fervent support for animal rights. But you would probably respect them.

Bowden was so well liked by some of his constituents that they even arranged a thanksgiving service at St Peter’s Church, possibly a unique honour for a serving MP.

What MPs did and said mattered. National broadsheets each day carried reports on Parliamentary debates. Local papers would almost always report what the MP had said in Westminster.

Now there are no Parliamentary reports in papers and usually the only commentary comes from sketch writers. Witty and amusing it may be but it is hardly complete or unbiased.

MPs now have so much casework that they often do not have much time to spend at debates, especially as Parliament now meets mainly during office hours. instead of having evening sessions.

Often the main opposition to the Government is provided, not by those MPs, but by the press and other branches of the media.

Most MPs used to be highly rated by their constituents even if they only visited them perhaps three or four times a year. They seldom lived locally.

Hector Hughes, a Labour MP for Aberdeen, lived at Marine Gate in Brighton where he spent a lot of time opposing the building of the marina.

Julian Amery, MP for Brighton Pavilion, lived in a home on the East Sussex estate of his father-in-law, former premier Harold Macmillan and also had a town house in Eaton Square Belgravia. He regarded himself as a statesman rather than what he called a large scale councillor.

But even backbenchers regarded it as an honour to be an MP despite receiving little money for their labours until relatively recently.

It is not always that way now. The Labour MP Tristram Hunt is resigning to run the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, creating a highly unwelcome by-election for his party.

An intelligent Labour moderate, Hunt had to choose between a top job in the arts or spending perhaps the rest of his working life as a backbench MP.

Other Labour MPs may also quit before the next general election which is not scheduled until 2020. A few Tories and Liberal Democrats may go as well, even if they are not offered enticing posts elsewhere.

MPs may be better paid than they were but much of their lives is ceaseless drudgery dealing with the never ending demands of constituents, many of whom are quite mad.

In return, they are often subjected to abuse, mostly unjustified, and accusations that they are greedy, stupid or corrupt.

Those who are elected when their party is experiencing a prolonged period in opposition often do not attain the high office they deserve. A good example is Roy Hattersley, former Labour deputy leader, who peaked during the long years of rule by Margaret Thatcher.

It is not good for democracy to have so many disillusioned MPs. Perhaps a start could be made in shifting much of the routine casework to civil servants and councils. where it often really belongs.

This would free the MPs to concentrate harder on vital issues both local and national. I doubt if in this more cynical age they will ever achieve the popularity of Bowden and Hobden but most need a bit more respect.

The Argus: The post office

Don’t be surprised if the Crown post office in Shoreham closes in spite of strong opposition. I cannot recall a recent case of one being saved

Public consultation is a meaningless farce. Soon the postal services for Shoreham will be crammed at the back of some small shop.

Britain used to be proud of its post offices. Now they are being ruthlessly run down and public opinion won’t make the slightest difference to this process.