The Political Class

Writing about the Political Class in Britain, Peter Oborne says:

Unlike the old Establishment, the Political Class depends directly or indirectly on the state for its special privileges, career structure and increasingly for its financial support. This visceral connection distinguishes it from all previous British governing elites, which were connected much more closely to civil society and were frequently hostile or indifferent to central government. Until recent times members of British ruling elites owed their status to the position they occupied outside Westminster. Today, in an important reversal, it is the position they occupy in Westminster that grants them their status in civil society. The Political Class is distinguished from earlier governing elites by a lack of experience of and connection with other ways of life.

A complex economy and the division of labour explain much of this disconnect between politicians and the citizens they are supposed to represent. Is there any way of closing the gap? One way might be to adopt one of the principles of a Social Policy Bond regime: debate policy in terms of targeted, explicit outcomes. Currently when our politicians talk to us it's often about funding arrangements, institutional structures, or the activities of government agencies. And what they talk to us about is often equally peripheral: people or events for which there is compelling tv footage; anecdotes and images that support an agenda that isn't always clear to us, the public.

A Social Policy Bond regime would recast political debate. Social and environmental outcomes would be the starting point of politics. Politicians would have to choose between such outcomes but in doing so they would consult ordinary people, who could participate in policymaking because they understand its terms. Compromises and trade-offs would still have to be made; there would still be pressure on resources and there would still be disagreements about priorities. But policy outcomes - unlike the arcana of current politics - are things that ordinary people can understand. Their participation in policymaking could help close the ever-widening divide between government and the people.