AIBU to want politicians with strong academic and business backgrounds?

[Catsandjkr]

AIBU to want politicans to be highly academically successful And have experience in running a business?

I'm so tired of these low grade politicians ruining our lives. They can lie (as Starmer exempifies), they don't need qualifications or experience to get the job. In inexplicable in other areas of life.

What a joke. But I suppose when its politicans like Lammy, Starmer, Reeves in charge, it won't ever change.

Politicians and MPs need a broad range of skills, a mix of academic, practical experience such as running a business or working for an organisation (to be able to appreciate the RW challenges businesses face and the realities of capitalism, shareholder value, employment issues), plus a healthy dose of emotional and social intelligence.

they also need to be versatile, able to move around Government departments (when their party is in power) and at pace if there's a sudden reshuffle. One day transport, next day health and social care. They don't always get a choice or cherry-pick their preferred role, they have to take what they're given.

Thise who have these proven skills can earn big money in industry with share options, fringe benefits and significant salary, so why would they be attracted to being in the firing-line in today's brutal political scene, where the public are never happy with the decisions they make (you can't please all the people, all of the time).

it makes me think being in politics must be a vocation, a calling, because they won't be doing it for the money !

Oh sweetie, did you really have to NC for this drivel?

Here is a meme that seems to go to your point 🤔

All very true

My worry is that Trump will be elected again and after that his sons will try.

I also worry about this.

Many 'businesspeople' are only concerned for themselves. I think that society has forgotten the importance of character and good values. Intelligent and capable leaders can leverage the expertise of businesspeople and do not need direct experience.

Yes I can see it works for Clinton.

I think what Clinton and my suggestions (Reagan and FDR) had in common was vision and leadership ability- they actually had aims and the ability to communicate why those aims mattered. Starmer doesn't seem seem to have any of this- there's no sense of an agenda that isn't simply reactive to events and no ability (or apparent interest) in taking the population with him.

Sadly the politicians we have who are closest to having these skills are both dishonest populists- Farage and Polanski.

@LawType , it doesn't look as though you're going to get a response.

Ignore the insults. The question of business experience for politicians is a reasonable one. A mix of experience is likely best, which seems to be missing atm.

I shall ignore the insults, I am sure cats can do the same

Thanks for the advice

But unless you have direct experience of, say, running a business, you can't possibly understand the realities of doing it. Every man and his dog think they know about business, such as the sheer number who think they can do a better job of running a little cafe, or don't understand why a cleaner charges a "whopping" £20, or why it's so hard to take on staff. But until they actually have to do it, they'll never understand the harsh realities of it. Same with all the other ministerial portfolios. It's not just the ministers themselves, their senior civil servants running the departments will almost certainly have no direct experience in the realities of their portfolios either.

We need a good mix. A government made up entirely of business people is just as bad as one made up of none.

"Business people" is also a wide range. At one end you have basically administrators/managers "running" an established business. At the other end, you have the "entreprenneurs" who have the ideas/vision etc but often don't have the ability to actually administer/manage it. Again, you need the right mix which is where a lot of firms go wrong, especially with the venture capital lot who buy up young growing businesses which then stagnate - look at all the "big names" that have disappeared or on their way out because the venture capitalists took over - Woolworths and loads of other franchised chains of shops/restaurants etc.

Running a business is different from running a country.

It wasn’t to you was it? Checks post.

No it was for the op.

I am agreeing with you that people should just ignore the 'unemployed Labour luvvies' comments the OP made.

Good general advice.

So I’ve just been looking up historians’ views of Bill Clinton’s presidency. They consistently rank him in the 50 th-75th percentile: a good to very good president, not a great president.

Clinton was and is a great orator, however.

It is nice to see people are able put their political views to one side and agree that insults should be ignored.❤️

What you are saying is you only want politicians who went to Oxbridge then? JUST the sort of representation we need, totally agree with you, more Eton boys please!

He was ok because he studied classics at Oxford and the OP only wants MP’s who studied at Oxbridge.

Maybe there is so much evidence that she needs the bank holiday to gather it all before posting? I’m sure she wouldn’t just make things up and assert them as fact…

What politicians of the last decade meet your criteria?

Seems to me you just want to have a dig at the Labour Party. The three you mention have strong academic backgrounds and relevant work experience.

You need better examples if you want to target Labour MPs.

No that is not what I am saying. It was more a reference to the fact Starmer tells everyone he's a barrister and he studied at Oxbridge. Yawn, Better luck next time.

Comprehension issues with you, it's hard to respond to you tbh.

What business experience to they have?

Reeves worked in bank but she didn't have business experience, and her performance as an economist is rather chequered to say the least. Her ex employer certainly wasn't complementary.