• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • FAQ
  • Meet the Team
  • About The London Economic
  • Advertise
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
NEWSLETTER
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

Britain’s political talent drain should be a concern for us all

It is quite an admission from the long-term Councillor for Putney and newly-elected Deputy Mayor of Wandsworth Ian Lewer that a career in politics might be a stretch for him, but given the lack of talent that currently resides within Westminster it seems to be a problem facing many young people. In Lewer’s opinion, one of […]

Guest Contributor by Guest Contributor
June 13, 2017
in Opinion

It is quite an admission from the long-term Councillor for Putney and newly-elected Deputy Mayor of Wandsworth Ian Lewer that a career in politics might be a stretch for him, but given the lack of talent that currently resides within Westminster it seems to be a problem facing many young people.

In Lewer’s opinion, one of the most depressing outcomes of this election is that it shows in “bold relief what little talent there is in politics today”. Although this is heightened on the Conservative side by there not being any real alternative to Theresa May, it is notable among all major political parties.

Despite Labour’s success, they are well short of being able to form a government now or in the future and it could be argued that 2017 is their high water mark. While it is undoubted that Jeremy Corbyn is a good campaigner he remains a terrible Leader of the Opposition (which he now must return to being). Yet there is no one within the Labour Party who is inspiring enough or has the nous to challenge and replace him.

TLE

The SNP lost its Westminster leader, the incredibly dull Angus Robertson, and worse they lost their only “big beast” and his obvious successor, former First Minister & Leader Alec Salmon (ironically both lost to the Conservatives). Who will replace the SNP in Westminster remains to be seen but it can be guaranteed not to be anyone with any great talent as I challenge anyone to name any other SNP MPs?

Although modestly successfully the Liberal Democrats lost votes. Tim Farron was terrible under the media spotlight and showed himself to be the perpetual opposition leader that he always was, even when the Lib Dem’s were in government. The fact that the party is seriously considering replacing him with the over 70 year old former Business Secretary Sir Vince Cable speaks for itself in their desperation.

And as for UKIP, well, we all need a bit of humour at times like these.

RelatedPosts

Elevenses: Bluff, Bluster and Biden

What the parable of the 6.2cm journalist teaches us about NHS data

Elevenses: Thatcher’s ‘Personal Society’ Persists

Elevenses: Should Matt Hancock Resign?

What all of the above shows is how low the talent level has fallen in British politics. In the past many people across the political spectrum felt an obligation to go into politics to give back to the nation, having received much in their own lives, whether wealthy businessmen or trade unionists.

Today a combination of being under an excessive media spotlight (which means that only those with unblemished records in all walks of life are free of abuse), low pay for politicians and the fact that politics in itself has become a profession forces those who have other jobs to compete with those with strong links to influential persons and having the time to dedicate to developing further links has led to a real decline in the calibre of those in parliament.

As Michael Heseltine (himself a very successful businessman before entering Parliament in the 1960s) said about those who have careers in politics entering Parliament “I don’t think they add anything”.

In local government, from my own experience in Wandsworth, but I am sure across the country more widely, there are examples of people with diverse careers combining those with a political role which adds considerably to public debate.

Surely the last election therefore shows two things; Firstly that the current crop of national politicians are not fit for purpose and secondly that if we followed a genuine process of devolution to local government we could tap into the talent that already exists there. These two simple solutions would hopefully not only improve the way politics is conducted but also go some way to improving the public’s view of politics and politicians.

 

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Tags: headline
Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism
Please login to join discussion

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending fromTLE

  • All
  • trending

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

Stress, fear and homelessness: The threat looming over families confronted with eviction

File photo dated 07/11/03 of a prison cell.

The Other Prison Pandemic

Latest from TLE

Prince Andrew trends amid latest attack on Meghan Markle’s character

Chancellor to extend furlough scheme until September as he unveils Budget

Image by AdobeStock

Weather forecast, alerts and UVB index for London, Wednesday 3 March 2021

Lucky Numbers and Horoscopes for today, 3 March 2021

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: jack@thelondoneconomic.com

Commercial enquiries, please contact: advertise@thelondoneconomic.com

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech & Auto
  • About The London Economic
  • Meet the Team
  • Privacy policy

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.