They get brickbats and they get backslaps, but generally more of the former than the latter.
We're talking about politicians, those people who put themselves forward to serve voters and stand up for what they believe.
For a long time the political landscape in Shropshire was straightforward - Tory MPs in all parts, with the exception of The Wrekin, which swung this way and that. In the modern era that pattern has been broken, and it's all to play for.
Over the years there have been big personalities, controversial personalities, and Shropshire MPs with notable long service.
Join us in remembering some of those who lit up the political stage in past times.
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13. Green turns Ludlow yellow in a sensational result
Matthew Green gets a winning kiss from his wife Sarah after pulling off one of the most sensational election results in Shropshire. He became the first non-Tory MP for Ludlow for 116 years when he won the seat for the Liberal Democrats in the 2001 general election. There was a recount, but it wasn't really that close, as his majority was 1,630. It was a low point for the Tories. Out of the five Shropshire constituencies, they won just one - North Shropshire. The Conservatives were able to take Ludlow back in 2005 and the Lib Dems have not been able to repeat the feat since. The constituency is now called South Shropshire. | Shropshire Star
14. Denis Healey meets a future taxpayer
Labour politician Denis Healey with 17-month old Rebecca Davis, of Majestic Way, Aqueduct, during a visit to Telford on April 22, 1983. He addressed a Labour rally at the Abraham Darby School in Madeley. He had come to support Shropshire's four Labour candidates for the general election which had not yet been called but would be held in June. He also visited Telford town centre, and Telford Opportunities Centre at Halesfield. Healey was one of Labour's big hitters over many years, holding posts including Chancellor of the Exchequer and Defence Secretary. | Shropshire Star archive
15. And the crowd goes wild
Labour party supporters in The Wrekin constituency celebrating after their man's win in the October 1974 general election. The declaration came at Oakengates Town Hall almost an hour before the 3am time it had been expected, taking the waiting crowd of over 100 people by surprise. Most of them were Labour supporters who sang the Red Flag on hearing the result, drowning out the jeers of the Conservative supporters. | Shropshire Star
16. Wedding day for Lord Harlech
Lord Harlech, 51, former British Ambassador to the United States, and his bride, American fashion editor Pamela Colin, leave the tiny 18th century Grosvenor Chapel, Mayfair, London, following their marriage in 1969. About 150 guests, including Princess Margaret and her husband, Lord Snowdon, and former British premier Harold Macmillan, attended the ceremony. David Ormsby-Gore, as he was then, had been Oswestry MP in the 1950s but became Britain's Ambassador to the US in 1961 - President Jack Kennedy had long been a friend of his. Later, as president of the British Board of Film Censors, Lord Harlech's signature was a famous sight on cinema screens. Both his first wife and older brother were killed in car crashes, and he was to suffer the same fate, suffering fatal injuries in a crash near Shrewsbury in 1985. His funeral was attended by Jackie Onassis and Senator Edward Kennedy. | Shropshire Star archive