Do we need parties?

Stumbling and Mumbling has a really good post on political parties. While people are arguing that differing forms of election will give more representative and responsive government from the political parties do we need such rigid parties at all? If I remember my parliamentary history correctly the current party system is quite a new idea, for most of it's existence each MP was a law unto himself and only really accountable to his electors (if that) with parties only coming together for electoral purposes, which is why First Past the Post worked since you where not voting for a party (if you could vote) but for an individual. Sometimes the individual that bribed the most, but certainly not a particular party.