Read or listen now | Why politicians and public servants fail to make bold decisions and why nothing changes. Dominic Frisby explores the concept of career risk and its impact on decision-making in government.
I've often thought the biggest issue thwarting change is the media. We need politicians far more accountable and exposed. We need to completely remove the legacy media. They literally manufacture crisis after crisis to suit their own ends. And your post just adds to the whole issue now in so far as how this coubtry is actually governed. The media is absolute poison. They're all run by vested interests of course too. The Spiked revelation is the latest Ina series of eye openers.
A couple of recent examples of MP's that have left the cabinet and then gone on to tell the truth are Dominic Raab and David Frost. Now they safely tell their stories from the confines of the Telegraph to mostly an audience who are already converts to conservatism. Very safe and very ineffective. I can understand the career risk argument and MP's not wanting to rock the boat, but I also think it's a result of Westminster conditioning. Once candidate selection became centralized by political parties they vetted out any potentially controversial candidates with any 'outlier' (conservative!) views. The only people who can tell the truth nowadays are those who have already made it and don't have career risk. JK Rowling for example on trans issues via Twitter, or Baroness (Claire) Fox now in the HoL who gets occasional BBC time, or you Dominic thanks to Substack and a plethora of side-gigs. It's not representative and it's not enough. Is it just a lack of courage amongst the political mass? Public opinion is supportive but none of the public polls are really representative. As you say, the media-cracy are in charge and they're in no mood to let go of their power. Decentralization is both the challenge and the solution I think.
Yes I see your point but remember many public officials (and indeed politicians) move quickly into lucrative posts in industry once they leave officialdom (if they have a clean record).
In my opinion it's this revolving door that needs to be locked. But such closure isn't in the interests of those who might benefit from it and so is unlikley.
The issue is compounded of course because now the people who run the media now have the same long term goals as the people who run government. So the pressure is to ‘do the terrible thing more quickly’, or ‘stop listening to the voters because they are all stupid and bigoted’. It’s unrepresentative. No one voted for Rishi Sunak, but no one voted for Emily Maitlis either.
I think political parties are the root of all government evil - too many wheels within wheels:
"A political system resting on professional party politicians is clearly fatal to all liberty and national well-being" ( RHS Crossman, 1963 introduction to Walter Bagehot, The English Constitution (1867))
Edmund Burke also referred to the importance of the freedom of MPs in his writings.
I also agree with Keith below - the revolving doors and vested interests mean that an MP is never independent/free.
Agreed. Does Bitcoin / gold fix this? I dunno, but personally, I’m prepping with pessimism but betting on optimism. Thanks for continuing to amuse, enlighten and entertain us Dominic, whilst we sit back to watch the never-ending sh1tshow unfold.
There is another way although I am surprised it is not done very often. A kind of manipulation what the program 'Yes Minster' highlighted a few times. Not to say there is an issue because they probably are already aware of it, but to point out if this simple change was made here the career of that person would improve and develop further where it is to the persons benefit and all the good things that could come out of it for the person if they made those changes.
Manipulating people has to be done in a cleaver and thoughtful way simple people aspire to great things if they see a benefit to themselves. They just need the thread to string them along and someone at the other end pulling it. People always go for the easy option you just have to make it look easy if it looks complicated.
Agreed however the media is predominately woke left wing so nothing gets done for that reason as well i.e. immigration. We can expect this summer at least 100,000 more illegal arrivals. The media hardly covers this subject and the Govt occasionally says they will take action but does nothing.
On career risk
I've often thought the biggest issue thwarting change is the media. We need politicians far more accountable and exposed. We need to completely remove the legacy media. They literally manufacture crisis after crisis to suit their own ends. And your post just adds to the whole issue now in so far as how this coubtry is actually governed. The media is absolute poison. They're all run by vested interests of course too. The Spiked revelation is the latest Ina series of eye openers.
A couple of recent examples of MP's that have left the cabinet and then gone on to tell the truth are Dominic Raab and David Frost. Now they safely tell their stories from the confines of the Telegraph to mostly an audience who are already converts to conservatism. Very safe and very ineffective. I can understand the career risk argument and MP's not wanting to rock the boat, but I also think it's a result of Westminster conditioning. Once candidate selection became centralized by political parties they vetted out any potentially controversial candidates with any 'outlier' (conservative!) views. The only people who can tell the truth nowadays are those who have already made it and don't have career risk. JK Rowling for example on trans issues via Twitter, or Baroness (Claire) Fox now in the HoL who gets occasional BBC time, or you Dominic thanks to Substack and a plethora of side-gigs. It's not representative and it's not enough. Is it just a lack of courage amongst the political mass? Public opinion is supportive but none of the public polls are really representative. As you say, the media-cracy are in charge and they're in no mood to let go of their power. Decentralization is both the challenge and the solution I think.
Yes I see your point but remember many public officials (and indeed politicians) move quickly into lucrative posts in industry once they leave officialdom (if they have a clean record).
In my opinion it's this revolving door that needs to be locked. But such closure isn't in the interests of those who might benefit from it and so is unlikley.
The issue is compounded of course because now the people who run the media now have the same long term goals as the people who run government. So the pressure is to ‘do the terrible thing more quickly’, or ‘stop listening to the voters because they are all stupid and bigoted’. It’s unrepresentative. No one voted for Rishi Sunak, but no one voted for Emily Maitlis either.
So true, Dom, as ever. I really think you ought to consider politics - but you will either be sacked or emasculated
I think political parties are the root of all government evil - too many wheels within wheels:
"A political system resting on professional party politicians is clearly fatal to all liberty and national well-being" ( RHS Crossman, 1963 introduction to Walter Bagehot, The English Constitution (1867))
Edmund Burke also referred to the importance of the freedom of MPs in his writings.
I also agree with Keith below - the revolving doors and vested interests mean that an MP is never independent/free.
Agreed. Does Bitcoin / gold fix this? I dunno, but personally, I’m prepping with pessimism but betting on optimism. Thanks for continuing to amuse, enlighten and entertain us Dominic, whilst we sit back to watch the never-ending sh1tshow unfold.
There is another way although I am surprised it is not done very often. A kind of manipulation what the program 'Yes Minster' highlighted a few times. Not to say there is an issue because they probably are already aware of it, but to point out if this simple change was made here the career of that person would improve and develop further where it is to the persons benefit and all the good things that could come out of it for the person if they made those changes.
Manipulating people has to be done in a cleaver and thoughtful way simple people aspire to great things if they see a benefit to themselves. They just need the thread to string them along and someone at the other end pulling it. People always go for the easy option you just have to make it look easy if it looks complicated.
Agreed however the media is predominately woke left wing so nothing gets done for that reason as well i.e. immigration. We can expect this summer at least 100,000 more illegal arrivals. The media hardly covers this subject and the Govt occasionally says they will take action but does nothing.