Homeopathic politicians

[Nearly Sane]

I am always wary of the idea of a golden age, but maybe I can get along with the idea of some sort of bronze age where most politicians were real people even if I disagreed with them. Currently though I think we have distilled politicians, shaken and reduced so far to be parts in a million of reality. And yes I know there are good MPs, looking at you Alison Thewliss, out there but the higher you go, the emptier it feels. The HoC feels like it is haunted by the distilled memory of a sock Attlee wore once.

[jakswan]

We get the politicians we deserve, 'I don't know what his policies are but he is a very nice man' to paraphrase a vox pop.

I'm not a Blairite and he was wrong on Iraq but he was a good politician, Nick Clegg one mistake and he is finished. May is what you get now, says and does nothing, time will pass and then we will get our own Trump as people tire of the grey.

 

[Nearly Sane]

Good to see you post, jakswan, and yes I agree we get the politicians we deserve but what did we do to get the shower at the top of the main parties?

[Shaker]

I'm not a Blairite and he was wrong on Iraq but he was a good politician

Not widely considered an endorsement.

[Rhiannon]

Maybe a part of it is how we treat politicians. I can't think of any profession that is so reviled. It no longer confers status. Why the hell would anyone want to run for government?

[Rhiannon]

Not widely considered an endorsement.

But we need good politicians.

[Nearly Sane]

Maybe a part of it is how we treat politicians. I can't think of any profession that is so reviled. It no longer confers status. Why the hell would anyone want to run for government?

Oh I would agree on that. I have no understanding of why people become politicians. It's a shite job and unless you are using it as some form of self advertising and being paid for stuff I don't think you should be allowed to do, the pay's not great.

[Shaker]

But we need good politicians.

Bless you.

[Harrowby Hall]

... I have no understanding of why people become politicians. ...

Isn't it largely a career choice  now?  Young people decide that they want to be politicians?

They go to Oxford and do PPE, then they join the research departments of political parties, or work for MPs, and then they get added to candidate lists and get sent to relatively safe constituencies to be interviewed for candidate vacancies.

[Rhiannon]

Bless you.

We do though. I don't put Blair in that category, but it is definitely something we need.

[Rhiannon]

Isn't it largely a career choice  now?  Young people decide that they want to be politicians?

They go to Oxford and do PPE, then they join the research departments of political parties, or work for MPs, and then they get added to candidate lists and get sent to relatively safe constituencies to be interviewed for candidate vacancies.

Which in itself accounts to a good extent as to why we have politician that are such poor quality.

[wigginhall]

My brother-i-law was a Tory MP, and through him I had a glimpse into this ghastly world, of phonies, all stabbing each other in the back, with massive personas, which they would perform all the time.    Like Major's bastards.   Some of them could be nice people also, in the right context.   It's just the way that the world works, I thought.  I also worked with a guy who became a Labour MP, not so much of a phoney, but barking mad, really. 

[Aruntraveller]

My Uncle was once asked to stand for Newark (as a Tory........don't start you can't pick your relatives) he considered it for all of 2 minutes and told the local branch it doesnt pay enough (he is a solicitor,  retired now).

Shame really as he is more Ken Clarke than David Davies.

Still wouldn't have voted for him.

My point being that pay is an issue.  You aren't going to get the best and the brightest if they can earn more elsewhere with considerably less hassle and less diruption to family life.

[Rhiannon]

My Uncle was once asked to stand for Newark (as a Tory........don't start you can't pick your relatives) he considered it for all of 2 minutes and told the local branch it doesnt pay enough (he is a solicitor,  retired now).

Shame really as he is more Ken Clarke than David Davies.

Still wouldn't have voted for him.

My point being that pay is an issue.  You aren't going to get the best and the brightest if they can earn more elsewhere with considerably less hassle and less diruption to family life.

The people that I know who went into political life did so after making a substantial amount of money in other fields. The alternative is HH's career politicians, who won't succeed in other fields and who generally aren't that good.