Would parties choosing candidates from their membership by lottery help tackle political careerism? By Keith Dowding, William Bosworth and Adriano Giuliani.
Very interesting proposals. I completely agree that we seem to have moved towards career politicians who follow a by now well trodden path. The high-flyers start by taking high profile roles in student politics, and then move through the roles that you've outlined.
One of the biggest problems that I see now is finance. It costs money to put yourself forward for a career in politics, whether you're in it for yourself or for ideological reasons. Once elected, the backbencher MP is paid a good salary compared to the UK average, but not in comparison to many in senior roles in both public and private sectors. The quality of life for an MP with a young family does not appear to be good. Should an MP be elected for only one term, or even two, where do they go on return to non-political life? Doctors, dentists, and senior teachers (just to give a few examples) cannot just 'pick up the pieces' after 5-10 years.
Until we can sort out these issues (I don't have easy answers) it is difficult to see how we can expect to have a diverse House of Commons that is more representative of the people.
Very interesting proposals. I completely agree that we seem to have moved towards career politicians who follow a by now well trodden path. The high-flyers start by taking high profile roles in student politics, and then move through the roles that you've outlined.
One of the biggest problems that I see now is finance. It costs money to put yourself forward for a career in politics, whether you're in it for yourself or for ideological reasons. Once elected, the backbencher MP is paid a good salary compared to the UK average, but not in comparison to many in senior roles in both public and private sectors. The quality of life for an MP with a young family does not appear to be good. Should an MP be elected for only one term, or even two, where do they go on return to non-political life? Doctors, dentists, and senior teachers (just to give a few examples) cannot just 'pick up the pieces' after 5-10 years.
Until we can sort out these issues (I don't have easy answers) it is difficult to see how we can expect to have a diverse House of Commons that is more representative of the people.