Up the Elites!

Somebody says 'fuck pig' at the Covid inquiry and, lo and behold, David Cameron reappears.  Coincidence?  I think not.  I know that 'elitism' has become a dirty word and we're not meant to use it these days because it's, you know, 'elitist', but I think that it is long overdue a comeback in British politics. Not in the sense of us being ruled by elites drawn from Eton and other public schools, which is what we have now, even those these self-same political leaders are the very people condemning the idea of 'elites' and 'elitism', but in the sense that maybe we should be more selective as to we allow to even stand for elected office.  I mean, just look at the likes of Suella Braverman - a card carrying right wing loon and probable sociopath - and ask yourself just how any sane person could possibly think that she was fit for public office and vote for her?  Not just her, of course - there's a whole legion of them out there: Liz Truss, Lee Anderson, Michael Gove, Boris Johnson, Nadine Dorries, the list seems endless.  They're all certifiably insane, not to say incompetent, yet have been elected as our representatives and elevated to senior governmental positions.  What does this tell us?  That there are a lot of equally foaming at the mouth insane psychopaths eligible to vote out there, who keep electing these loons?  Or is it just that they are given no choice, as they are the only candidates they are being offered to vote for if they want to vote for a 'conservative' candidate?

Because that's the real problem: the selection process for candidates is clearly flawed, allowing any loon to stand for public office.  Clearly, the selection process needs to be taken out of the hands of local political parties and an agreed set of criteria need to be set out in order that would be candidates meet a certain minimum standard.  Like not being mad.  Or a Nazi.  Or an idiot.  For those meeting these standards, certification could be issued, qualifying individuals to stand as candidates for elected office.  No certificate, no election.  Yeah, I know, we'd be creating a new political elite.  But at least it would be an elite based upon sanity, decency and competence.  Just look at the state of our political leadership and ask yourself whether that would really be so bad?  It certainly couldn't be any worse than what we have now, where patronage, money and a willingness to pander to the basest prejudices of a tiny number of party activists seem to be the overriding factors when it comes to getting a chance to stand as an elected representative.  After all, we expect other professionals to be properly qualified, from doctors and lawyers to quantity surveyors, so why not political representatives?  Damn it, it isn't just professionals we expect to be licenced - to drive a vehicle, operate heavy machinery or look after children you have to hold the requisite qualifications.  So yeah, I'm all for political elites, just as long as they are properly qualified and regulated according a set of agreed rules.