Blair’s swipe at MPs who lack real-world experience (like Ed!)
TONY Blair has taken another veiled swipe at Ed Miliband by criticising MPs who have never had a proper job.
the former prime minister said the ‘gene pool’ of political leaders had suffered because too few candidates have ‘reallife experience’.
He suggested that too many graduates went straight from university to a job as a political researcher, before then becoming an MP – a path that may sound familiar to Mr Miliband.
the current Labour leader was elected to the Commons nine years ago, having done little after his philosophy, politics and economics degree at Oxford – apart from working in the treasury as a special adviser.
Writing in the New York times, Mr Blair, who worked as a barrister before becoming an MP, also complained that Westminster fails to attract the best candidates because politicians are not paid enough. Recent estimates suggest his own fortune could be as large as £100million – although he claims to be worth less than £20million.
Mr Blair also attacked leaders who over-react to online controversies – just two weeks after Mr Miliband sacked his shadow attorney general, Emily thornberry, after she sneered at a white van owner’s flag- covered home on twitter.
the comments come at a difficult time for Mr Miliband, who is facing questions over his failure to take a commanding lead in the polls against a government that has introduced significant spending cuts.
Last week, Mr Blair cast doubt on whether he could win the next election, saying Labour needed a ‘strong’ leader and suggesting that Mr Miliband had thrown away the chance of a ‘substantial majority’ by dragging the party to the left. two months earlier, Mr Blair was forced to deny claims he had privately told allies that Mr Miliband ‘cannot beat’ David Cameron, due to his failure to connect with voters.
Mr Blair, who did not refer to Mr Miliband by name in his latest comments, wrote: ‘At the very
‘The gene pool has shrunk’
time when leadership is needed, the gene pool of political leaders has shrunk. How many leaders and, for that matter, followers in a parliament or congress have real-life experience in responsible positions outside of politics?
‘today it is very common for a young person interested in poli- tics to graduate from university, go to work for a politician as a researcher or political analyst, and then transition straight into an elected position.’
the former prime minister said of his time as a barrister: ‘I learned about business and about people in a way that was greatly beneficial when I later came to govern.
‘In particular, I learned the difference between academic political ideas and policies suited to “real world” application.’
He went on to claim: ‘On top of this – and only an ex-politician can say this – politicians are not really well-paid by the standards of those who are successful in the private sector.’
British MPs currently earn £67,060, while the Prime Minister is paid £142,500. However, Mr Blair said this pay structure ‘restricts the attractions of a political career, at exactly the time when we most need the gene pool of our politicians to be varied, vibrant and vigorous.’
He added that leaders’ challenges were ‘magnified by social media’ such as twitter and Facebook. ‘Waves of emotion used to build to tidal strength relatively slowly,’ he said. ‘they now reach tsunami force within days, even hours.’
He criticised those who bow to online pressure, saying that social media ‘is exciting and can effect real and positive change, but it is also the domain of the loudmouth’. He added: ‘those who shout loudest don’t necessarily deserve to be heard most.’