We need normal people to be running the country

[Marianne1234]

Not these Etonian freaks who have no idea what it’s like to live in the real world.

Where are they all? The lawyers, accountants, teachers. Clever professionals who have been to the state schools. Used the NHS. Lived amongst normal people. Been skint students who have struggled to pay their bills. Cared for elderly relatives. Been working mothers. Worked for a living.

Not ridiculous anachronisms like JRM or hooray Henry’s like David Cameron or national embarrassments like Boris (who was a national embarrassment before he was ever the PM).

It really is true that people who want to be in politics, should not be anywhere near it. Maybe we should conscript the normal people

Politics is simply a horrible workplace. It attracts people with bad personality traits - arrogant and narcissistic. Competence completely optional and usually lacking. All backstabbing so they can get a go at the “top job”. Grim grim grim.

Reasonable and intelligent people such as Vince Cable are the ones who ought to have been PM.

Where are they all? The lawyers, accountants, teachers. Clever professionals who have been to the state schools. Used the NHS. Lived amongst normal people. Been skint students who have struggled to pay their bills. Cared for elderly relatives. Been working mothers. Worked for a living

Well they're not in the Tory party! (But didn't we already know that?)

Sir Keir Rodney Starmer KCB QC, doesn't sound like your average Joe.

No but before he rose on merit he was ordinary which I think is the OP's ideal.

I have no ties to or knowledge of Eton but don’t think we should be berating people who went there.

Eton have so much money that they can take very bright kids for free. Social mobility is a funny thing. If you start out as “salt of the earth local kid born to WC parents” and do brilliantly - maybe you go to Eton for free, maybe Oxford or whatever and become rich - you suddenly become part of the hated elite and seemingly it’s ok for people to dismiss you as a rich bastard in an ivory tower.

I don’t give a shit about the background of people in politics. I do give a shit about their intellect though.

It's for this reason I'd love to get behind Starmer. He's from an average background at the very least even if it's not one of poverty and clearly has the intelligence and social skills to climb the greasy pole to obtain not just QC but Sir as extras to his name.

I do believe that he can appreciate the viewpoint of the more ordinary UK person than the average Conservative or even Lib Dem. However he can't seem to find a convincing voice or position so is incapable of winning people over and his refusal to acknowledge that women are the only people capable of having a cervix has done him no favours in this home

I refuse to vote Tory but I'm struggling to give Labour a vote beyond wanting to oust the Tories. I don't think that's a strong enough position in general to give Labour the majority (or as close to for alliances) as they need. They are meant to be the party of the people, but the people can't seem to trust them which is beyond mad given how Boris and cronies are abusing pretty much every privilege laid at their door.

I agree though, we need people with real experience and real ability/aptitude/intelligence. Not people spoon fed degrees because mater and pater have a few bob in the bank and could pay for it.

Nice bit of inverted snobbery on a Wednesday

Yeah. I like Starmer. And I liked Gordon Brown.

@Kay00

The Labour Party have many of the professional ordinary working people that you are looking for. Angela Raynor and Kier Starmer for two.

We said ordinary, not even more incompetent.

Kier Starmer is exactly what OP is asking for. A child of working class parents who did well academically and was successful enough as a lawyer to become QC and get a knighthood for services to law and criminal justice.

The trouble is once he "made it" he became one of "them", or at least that's how it seems from some posts here.

Keir starmer is not from a privileged back ground. He’s like my Dh as he’s well educated and clever people assume “posh” and privileged. The reality for Dh is both his parents left school at 16 his dad had a manual job and dh went to state school. Keir starmer similar from what I vaguely remember from desert island discs anyway.

@OfstedOffred

The kind of politician I want would consider £80k plus expenses to be a fair recompense for a role in which they can make a difference.

Yeah well if you live in the south east and havent inherited a house, 80k doesnt go that far on a massive mortgage when you've childcare to pay

Then stand for a seat in an area with relatively affordable housing and wait until you no longer have a massive childcare bill.

[quote onlychildhamster]@MorningStarling Keir Rodney Starmer was born in Southwark, London, on 2 September 1962[1][2] and grew up in the small town of Oxted in Surrey.[3][4][5] He was born the second of the four children of Josephine (née Baker), a nurse, and Rodney Starmer, a toolmaker

He has a far more 'ordinary' childhood than most people I know...He was also far more successful in his career than almost anyone I know. Sounds like a good combination.

After all we should respect people for what they have done with their lives, not who their parents were.[/quote]
Yet Johnson had the nerve to describe his party as "the party of aspiration" in PMQs today. He's never had to work for anything in his life.

Then stand for a seat in an area with relatively affordable housing

What, and uproot my whole family?

Someone has to represent the area I live in. Should it only be someone with inherited wealth to afford the housing here on an mp salary?

I don’t give a shit about the background of people in politics

That's part of the problem and partly why the system is so corrupt. They then appoint and promote their cronies from those same backgrounds and form power clusters that are hard to get rid of. Diversity really matters.

Surely we want someone a but more than Average Joe in charge?

I agree more average background would be good, but they won't be average in the years in between leaving (starting?) school and becoming PM if they're going to be any good.

Sir Kier Starmer QC was born Kier Starmer son of a nurse and a tradesman. He worked for the rest.

I don't understand why he's not doing better, he should be a dream candidate at an easy time for Labour, but they're not making it happen.

Lots of Labour MP’s fit your criteria including both the leader and deputy. Angela Rayner is regularly slated for being too normal though, apparently having a NW accent isn’t very professional.

Also just want to add that it’s Keir, too many people misspell his name.

A stop to career politicians would be a good idea. And we've definitely had enough Bullingdon club alumni - even Plato said that an ideal ruler would be someone who didn't want to do it (as people generally want to be in politics for self advancement and aggrandisement.

Surely we want someone a but more than Average Joe in charge?

Compared with JRM and BoJo? Give me average joe.

If I were to take five years out to be an MP for a term it would cost me substantially lifetime earnings in its impact on my career unless I found a way to leverage it financially. That is why I want to be represented by someone independently wealthy who would be harder to buy.

I do begrudgingly accept that everyone has a price, but would hope beyond a certain level of security people are much harder to buy.

@Grapesavocado

They're in because they were voted for.

K Starmer is very ordinary.

Is this the same K Starmer who refused to prosecute Jimmy Savile when he was DPP?

@Sartre

Also just want to add that it’s Keir, too many people misspell his name.

It is, sorry.

I wonder if he'd be a more successful working class hero if he'd been given a more ordinary name, rather than that of the founder of the Labour party, which I'm guessing most people don't even know.

Considering what weve had for the last few years I really dont think Eton should be bragging about churning out prime ministers.
Its disgusting that non of our "representatives" have any idea about the real world. Maybe if they did real problems with our society would be addressed.

I’m not sure it’s the normalcy of a person that matters but what their motivation for being in politics is.
Most MPs seem to be self serving, self promoting, in it for the connections they make, the money making schemes they can put in place for after they leave politics.
Someone speaking on Jeremy Vine said Boris isn’t interested in politics or running the country, he’s just interested in getting out of scrapes. Not really the basis for the leader of a country on the world stage. I really don’t think he’s ever grown up.

That is why I want to be represented by someone independently wealthy who would be harder to buy.I do begrudgingly accept that everyone has a price, but would hope beyond a certain level of security people are much harder to buy.

And yet this is classically untrue. Look at where the likes of george Osborne and david Cameron have moved onto following politics.