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By Francesca Wilski,

Bagehot today described the government as ‘one of its last bastions of inefficient amateurism.’ He proposed in The Economist article that by hiring outside of Westminster’s reach, we might improve our government like the South Africans have our cricket team.

However, while a ‘government of all talents’ is a sound idea with many positive implications, maybe at a time when confidence in our MP’s is so low, it would be more harmful than helpful. MP’s now seem afraid of their own shadows after the recent storms of abuse that prevails over anyone that voices an opinion slightly ‘controversial’. We should be putting more trust in them, not less. We should be giving them an opportunity to redeem themselves and do what they came to Westminster to do. Be a politician.

A Guardian article stated earlier this year, “These people [goats] are not professional politicians...it’s no surprise they would want to move on after a period of time...too many frustrations and compromises. Watching your language all the time. Putting the career politicians' noses out of joint.” It seems no matter how informed one is in a certain area of expertise, if you’re not suited to be in Westminster, you will not survive long. Some may argue that we should therefore focus on changing the way Westminster works, but I would not.

I feel that those ‘career politicians’ deserve more in the way of job security. They have made a life out of their passion for politics and are therefore suited to the lifestyle of, some may say, tiresome, schedule of meetings, debates and discussions. Giving them the chance to progress from amateurs to experts may be the way towards bettering the British parliament, country and pride.

I propose we play government like Monopoly. Only after investing in a stable and successful string of MP’s, can we then afford to build on them with ‘outsiders’ to form a ‘government of all talents’. They then profit us, without hindering what we had before. Mind that we choose the right goats though, repairs can cost a fortune!