British Politicians to be IQ & Personality Tested !
Channel: Crying Shame Politics
Date: 2022-11-04

To the outside viewer, the British political system must look in a fantastical mess right now, and it is to a degree. The system is robust, tried and tested, but the calibre of our politicians are lower than I can ever remember. Instead of appointing our national problem solvers from a list of candidates based upon ability, creativity and intelligence, we now weight the system to reflect the representation of minority groups, social class, sex and ethnicity. On the face of it, this is fair and just, but these candidates must display more than a desire for equality, they must be able to deal with the big issues that are affecting our national security; prosperity and future integrity.

So there is our dichotomy. How to democratically appoint leaders who have the intelligence and skills required to represent the UK on the international stage, while ensuring that they don't lose track of their local responsibilities or succumb to career pressures which affect the way that they vote.

Firstly, I wholeheartedly believe that the voting public should play a bigger role in the political direction of the country. I would suggest a pre-electoral vote, let's say 6 months before any general election, that allows the electorate to appoint 10 societal issues that the contesting parties must address in their up-coming manifestos. This would allow the voters to appraise the parties, their proposed solutions and future actions, instead of having to rely upon the televisual appeal of a few party representatives and a couple of sound-bites repeated exhaustively throughout a campaign that has hitherto been designed to obfuscate rather than provide clarity.

Secondly, There are too many career politicians who, I'm sure started their political careers with proper intent, but over time they learned to seek riches from their privileged positions. It doesn't take a genius to see that our political representatives might be convinced to look away from their social responsibilities should their lucrative careers be in jeopardy. For many generations we have relied upon a system of governmental oversight to locate those who would be swayed by such pressures, but time and again the rules continue to be broken.

Might it be possible to factor in integrity (among other desirable attributes) into the application process ? If all political candidates were made to take an IQ & personality test that investigated their ability to undertake the role in a practical, honest and reliable fashion before they stand for office, wouldn't that provide reassurance to the voters ? It seems to me that we have to take tests to apply for some of the lowest paid jobs, yet all it takes for someone to become a highly paid and influential MP in this day and age is bare-faced cheek, a straight smile and some well rehearsed hustling skills.

In the past this idea has been dismissed due to candidates being reluctant to apply because they fear their test results being made public, but the tests would be taken way before any candidate appointment is made. So, all candidates, at the point of electioneering, will have been passed to stand. That's all the electorate would need to know. Obviously, there would have to be insurances that third parties would never have access to these tests, but if the candidates have passed their tests the results should be a point of pride rather than concern.

Thirdly, why wouldn't we have achievement tables for our MP's ? Our sports men and women can't breathe without it being analysed and even our regular work-forces have yearly appraisals to ensure that they are performing adequately, so why not test our political representatives to ensure that they are working hard on our behalf and not just concentrating on their expense sheets and house-flipping antics ?

Whether or not these suggestions are taken into account in the future, one thing is for sure. Politicians are still as un-trusted as they have ever been and without a major overhaul to the way that we choose our political representatives things will never change. Over the past decade our social fabric has reached tearing point many times and who is to say that the next time will not be the last ?

As democracy becomes more chaotic and the memories of world war 2 slip from our collective consciousness the resurgence of totalitarianism becomes more and more attractive to those who have no memory of the damage it causes. If changing how our political representatives are chosen and monitored will improve public trust in politicians then it should be done today, because time is running out.