Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Before They Were Politicians.

Peter Oborne notes (via Iain Dale) that no member of the cabinet has ever worked in a wealth creating job, which reminds me of an old post of mine confirming this. What about the shadow cabinet then?

This is the current shadow cabinet including all those who attend shadow cabinet meetings:
David Cameron - Leader of the Opposition
George Osborne - Shadow Chancellor & General Election Campaign Coordinator
William Hague - Shadow Foreign Secretary
Dominic Grieve - Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Attorney General
Nick Herbert - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
Theresa May - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Dr Liam Fox - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Andrew Lansley - Shadow Secretary of State for Health
Greg Clark - Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
Peter Ainsworth - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Michael Gove - Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families
David Willetts - Shadow Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills
Grant Shapps - Shadow Minister for Housing
Theresa Villiers - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
Jeremy Hunt - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Eric Pickles - Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
Alan Duncan - Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Chris Grayling - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Andrew Mitchell - Shadow Secretary of State for International Development
Cheryl Gillan - Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
David Mundell - Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
Owen Paterson - Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Francis Maude - Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office
Philip Hammond - Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Patrick McLoughlin - Opposition Chief Whip
Lord Strathclyde -Leader of the Conservatives in the House of Lords
Caroline Spelman - Chairman of the Conservative Party


Lady Anelay - Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Lords -
David Lidington MP - Shadow Foreign Office Minister-
Adam Afriyie - Shadow Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education
Lady Warsi- Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion.
Lady Neville-Jones - Shadow Minister for Security
Oliver Letwin - Chairman of the Policy Review and Chairman of the Conservative Research Department

So 33 individuals. This is what they did before entering politics, some people will be included in more than one category. Overall their career backgrounds are far more diverse than Labour, but there are a ridiculous number of management consultants. Just 4 entrepreneurs though, only one of whom has anything to do with the party's business or economic policy:

Lawyers:

Dominic Grieve (Barrister)
Theresa Villiers ( Barrister)
Lady Warsi (Solicitor)
Francis Maide (Solicitor)
David Mundell (Solicitor)


Private Sector Companies:

David Lidington (BP)
Caroline Spelman (Biotech company)
Philip Hammond (Medical Technology Company, eventually the Managing Director)
Owen Paterson (Joined Leather company and eventually became Managing Director)
David Mundell (BT)
George Osbourne (Selfridges)
Oliver Letwin (Banker)
David Willetts (Company Director)
Lord Strathclyde (Insurance Broker)

Management Consultants:

William Hague
Jeremy Hunt
Chris Grayling
Cheryl Gillan
Eric Pickles

Trade Groups, Think Tanks & Pressure Groups:

Nick Herbert (British Field Sports Alliance, Reform etc)
Caroline Spelman (International Confederation of European Beetgrowers & NFU)
Oliver Letwin (Various Think Tanks)
Theresa May (Association for Payment Clearing Services)

Entrepreneurs:

Grant Shapps (Founded printing company)
Adam Afriye (Founded IT company)
Alan Duncan (Oil Trading)
Caroline Spelman (Founded a consultancy)

Manual Work:

Patrick McLoughlin (Agricultural labourer then Coal Miner)

No Career Before Politics:

David Cameron (later did stint in media)
Peter Ainsworth (Later worked as banker)
Greg Clark

Media

Michael Gove (journalist)
Chris Grayling

Public Sector:

Andrew Lansley (Civil Servant)
Lady Neville Jones (Diplomat, head of MI-5)
Baroness Anelye (Teacher and Magistrate)
Theresa May (Bank of England)
David Willetts (Civil Servant)

5 comments:

Mark Wadsworth said...

Like you say, on the face of it not overly encouraging but still a sight better than Nulab. I wouldn't exclude people who've worked for somebody else though, that's a valuable lesson in life just as much, whether you are a waiter, a bus driver or a school teacher or a merchant banker.

Ross said...

"I wouldn't exclude people who've worked for somebody else though"

I don't, although I think in the current climate people who know how to start new businesses are invaluable.

North Northwester said...

Lady Neville Jones (Diplomat, head of MI-5).

Don't see anyone else used to dealing with Bad People, though. You know, people who take things away, or break them, or hurt other people.

Say, what is the first duty of government, anyway?

Ross said...

"Don't see anyone else used to dealing with Bad People"

The lawyers deal with them, albeit often on their side.

North Northwester said...

Yes, I meant on the sharp end, against the bad-guys.

Oh dear; civilian-only leadership during a worldwide war.