Why don't people like Martin Lewis run for PM?

[SheSaidHummingbird]

Instead, we are stuck with Etonian **ers who are so far removed from reality, sitting pretty in their ivory towers. Boris, Liz, Rishi, even the Labour candidates, don't represent people like me, and I don't trust them to make the best decisions for the country. I don't trust them to sort out the problems we are facing, and are heading towards.

I do, however, trust Martin Lewis; he is one of the few voices speaking sense and truth. He would get my vote. AIBU?

I think they are better as advisors to an PM who would listen. Maybe a minister. MP would not allow them do this work at all

PM not MP

too honest

This. The system gives people the gov’t they deserve.

Because it's a bloody awful job and no normal person would want it.

There is a very painful truth in that cartoon

He's always said he wouldn't want that job. He can help people a lot more through financial advise like he does.

He's a true hero!!

Anyone wanting to be PM automatically gets three quarters of the population hating them for some reason or other.

Many threads on mumsnet have expressed a disdain for anyone "rich" wanting to be PM (including Sunak & Starmer) and Martin's net worth is estimated at £123m.

You can't run for PM. Even if he became an MP, the leader of the largest party becomes PM and he isn't wedded to one party.

I wish we had a better calibre of senior politician but ultimately that's our fault, we vote for them.

The type of person who sets out to be a politician is the last person who should be PM. As Plato said: Only those that do not seek power are qualified to hold it.

It's a really difficult job - every PM I can remember, regardless of political party, has ended up thoroughly disliked. Sometimes that's deserved but even when it's not, it's inevitable.

Current situation would be a nightmare for whoever was PM because almost every intervention the public might want risks further stoking inflation.

Well they would have to become the leader of their party which would involve years of being in political life, getting people in the party to back you.

We don't have a presidential system so nobody can really parachute in the way that Trump was able to. Votes go to the party not the person so they'd have to take a punt on joining either the party they felt closest to, or the one they judged would be most likely to win the next election, and therefore automatically turn off a lot of people.

Haven't we had enough multi millionaire show men already?

Clever bloke, too full of his own importance and too over dramatic.

He's probably not interested

He earns a fortune on the telly and has an easier life

He went to private school, did Government and Law at LSE, worked in the city is a multi-millionaire. Not so very different from any of the others in your list. I'm not saying he wouldn't do a better job, but he hardly comes from a deprived background either.

Sorry to be pedantic but in this country you can't just 'run for PM'. We have a party political system and you have to become an MP first, then become party leader, then get into power (or win a leadership contest if your party is already in power if the PM resigns). To take the very first step on that ladder you first need an affiliation with one of the major political parties (being realistic, tory or labour if you want to be PM), then to put some serious ground work in at grassroots and local level to stand a chance of getting selected to even run as an MP - contrary to popular opinion the majority of politicians today aren't lifetime politicos, most had other jobs before deciding to go into politics but however worthy a candidate wealthy and powerful you are you don't get to just walk up and decide you're going to be the next PM, even Boris who definitely short cutted a lot of the normal cabinet-graft needed to become PM was full-time in politics for near-on 20 years before serving as PM. ML and the like while clearly politically engaged usually steer clear of partisan-ship and party politics and that will be a deliberate choice, I doubt they'd want to be PM even if it could be granted via a magic wand or similar.

A more pertinent question I guess is how do we get more of a range of people standing to become MPs - personally I think it's a range of things, most people hate the idea but I actually think a modest payrise might help, yes they earn a very good salary but for those that take the job seriously it's much more than full-time work, especially if your constituency is far from Westminster than it's a huge amount of time on the road and away from home plus the inevitable barrage of hatred and non-zero risk of death, I wouldn't do it even for £84k myself. Definitely very challenging for anyone with a young family (bearing in mind as a young first-time MP you'd be far from guaranteed to be selected to stand in your 'home' consistency esp if that's a safe seat). Making it just a little bit more lucrative might bring in more people who don't have independent wealth backing them. Plus also I am probably in favour of moving towards a PR system to replace first past the post, this would bring in more diversity of parties and allow people who don't identify politically with the big 2 to become MPs much more easily.... But at the end of the day it is what the electorate want also, even in our effectively 2 party system there have always been other options, Lib Dem and Green on the left wing do tend to have more diversity of candidate than Labour/Conservative and if you incline the other way even the occasional-joke that was UKIP wasn't exactly filled with etonians and bankers was it? Yet both Green and UKIP hugely struggled to elect even a single MP, now maybe that's to do with their politics but also I do think people tend to respect a certain type and being well-educated, well spoken and rich doesn't hurt a person's political chances does it?

I'd rate Andy Street, but then probably also not acceptable per your requirements as he went to private school and did PPE at Oxford.

Because becoming PM takes (for normal, non-Etonians) a lot of work and years put in on the political backbenches. Being an active part of a political party, sometimes being councillors etc in local politics and working your way up through the party ranks. It also should involve having a good idea of laws, how to engage with people,
being intelligent and knowing how to be a leader. Being vocal about something is great but shouldn’t be the totality.

However. All of the above is what it should take, not what it does. Especially if you’re a Tory.

Because this is Britain, not America.

You don't vote 'for a PM'. Have you ever seen Johnson or May or whoever on your ballot? Have you ever even voted before?

It's not a TV show. You don't ring in.

It isn't a popularity contest, you aren't voting for one person but a political party. Also while he's well versed in his area how good would he be at diplomatic relations, making important decisions quickly, knowing a lot of weight is on your shoulders, constantly being judged? It's a thankless job. You also seem to have the very misguided view that he is just like Joe public, he isn't. He speaks plainly for sure and doesn't sugar-coat but he is prone to dramatics and is a millionaire. If Sunak is out of touch because he I'd super rich them so is Martin Lewis.

I'd vote for Martin Lewis as PM. Wish he was Labour

I think most people aren’t cut out for the job in all honesty. It’s a really difficult job. People like Martin Lewis, who probably wouldn’t be too bad at it, stick to what they know they’ll be competent at.
Most people who go for the PM job simply want to be PM - they don’t care if they’re good at it. It’s just an ego thing. ‘That’s the most important job, I want it.’
Remember Boris Johnson’s resignation speech… he was determined to stick it out no matter what (despite being shit). And then he started going on about it being ‘the best job in the world’. Whether it’s your dream job is irrelevant - it’s about whether you can deliver on the job. But too many world leaders don’t think that way. They suffer from whatever the exact opposite of imposter syndrome may be.

He's not a politician

Because you don't just decide to run for PM