Bloody Inbred Constituents

This caught my attention - an MP saying that diabetes in his Norfolk Constituency is caused by inbreeding.

The Moai, who is much more informed that me when it comes to genetics, tells me there is some validity in what Ian Gibson is saying. He says:

'Some places *are* more inbred than others, for cultural or geographical reasons, and there are several well-cited cases of pathologies clearly connected with group inbreeding:

- Cystic fibrosis sufferers are almost exclusively white = mate selection in group
- Sickle cell anaemia = limited to occupants and descendants of malarial endemic areas of Africa = selection pressure + mate selection
- Ashkenazi Jews of Libyan descent have a curiously high level of spongiform encephalopathy
- An abnormally high level of certain genetic pathologies has been spotted in the British Pakistani population, where consanguineous (cousin) marriage is not unknown.'

References here and here.

It is not so much the scientific edge that strikes me but rather the political audacity, or perhaps political incompetence, to say something so crass about the people who elected him. Any politician working in this country knows that there are some facts that you just don't vocalise unless you really have to, and if you have to, you put it in the most ambigious, wishy-washy language so most people don't have a clue what you are talking about and decide they probably wouldn't care even if they did (the Blair Technique, if you like).

Still, good news for the Tories - the 445th safest seat in the UK is probably now the least safe seat in the country, at least whilst Doctor Gibson is the Labour candidate.