One thing that is very fucking apparent to me living abroad is that the UK hardly has any competent people in the upper echelons of government (I’m not including top civil servants and diplomats here, who appear to do a stellar job despite the absolute bellends they are landed with as ministers).
I am comparing with places like Singapore.
One of the problems is actually that we don’t pay enough - the MP’s salary of £84,144 is not enough to attract the most capable people into politics. However, we would actually be better off having a smaller number of MPs on a higher wage. A bigger talent pool would be attracted. Of course, it would be hugely toxic to suggest politicians should be paid more.
I’m not saying £84,144 is a bad wage, it’s more than I earn. But the most competent C-suite people in the UK earn a fuck-ton more than that and wouldn’t be interested in running the country.
