This is a slightly edited extract from an article originally published in The Telegraph on 5th November.
The appointment of Angus MacIntyre as Reform UK’s shadow Armed Forces minister will, I hope, one day come to be seen as a defining moment in British politics.
For too long, Westminster has been run by a self-serving political class. Instead, we have career politicians who move straight from university debating societies to think tanks, into parliament and then directly into ministerial red boxes. The result has been successive governments made up of individuals with absolutely no real-world experience. This disconnect is nowhere more damaging than in the vital realm of defence.
Over the past two decades, we have had men and women making decisions on our Armed Forces, most of whom have never so much as pulled on uniform, let alone faced the harsh realities of geopolitical conflict.
By contrast, RAF Wing Commander MacIntyre brings an exemplary 40 years of military experience to the role, serving Britain across some of the world’s most challenging operational environments, from Mogadishu to Afghanistan. He has seen first hand the damage wreaked on our proud military by years of underfunding. We are immensely proud to have him on board.
But his appointment should not be seen as simply another addition to Reform UK’s already highly experienced front bench. It is a signal of the party’s determination to recruit people who have spent their working lives doing the jobs they are now being asked to help shape politically.
He is not the first such appointment we have made. Our Policing and Crime Adviser, Colin Sutton, had a distinguished 40-year career in the police, becoming one of Britain’s best-known detectives. His memoirs were the inspiration for ITV’s Manhunt, which details, among other cases, his successful investigation and conviction of serial killer Levi Bellfield.
These are real careers, and real experience.
The appointment of Angus MacIntyre as Reform UK’s shadow Armed Forces minister will, I hope, one day come to be seen as a defining moment in British politics.
For too long, Westminster has been run by a self-serving political class. Instead, we have career politicians who move straight from university debating societies to think tanks, into parliament and then directly into ministerial red boxes. The result has been successive governments made up of individuals with absolutely no real-world experience. This disconnect is nowhere more damaging than in the vital realm of defence.
Over the past two decades, we have had men and women making decisions on our Armed Forces, most of whom have never so much as pulled on uniform, let alone faced the harsh realities of geopolitical conflict.
By contrast, RAF Wing Commander MacIntyre brings an exemplary 40 years of military experience to the role, serving Britain across some of the world’s most challenging operational environments, from Mogadishu to Afghanistan. He has seen first hand the damage wreaked on our proud military by years of underfunding. We are immensely proud to have him on board.
But his appointment should not be seen as simply another addition to Reform UK’s already highly experienced front bench. It is a signal of the party’s determination to recruit people who have spent their working lives doing the jobs they are now being asked to help shape politically.
He is not the first such appointment we have made. Our Policing and Crime Adviser, Colin Sutton, had a distinguished 40-year career in the police, becoming one of Britain’s best-known detectives. His memoirs were the inspiration for ITV’s Manhunt, which details, among other cases, his successful investigation and conviction of serial killer Levi Bellfield.
These are real careers, and real experience.
Nor, I should add, will Angus’s appointment be the last of his type. We fully intend to bring in the best minds this country has to offer in health, farming, technology and business.
In America, of course, this is nothing new. Cabinet appointments are routinely plucked from specialist industries to run government departments. Yet here in Britain, we seem to recycle the same familiar political faces, moving them from one ministerial department to another, regardless of whether they have any real understanding of the sector they are supposed to oversee.
To grasp the sheer scale of Angus and Colin’s credentials, you only have to examine the deficit of genuine experience among the current political establishment. Take a look at the government frontbench. None have ever run a business or had to make a payroll. In fact, barely any of them even worked in the private sector at all – or at least not for very long.
Andy Burnham started out as a writer for Tank Container World magazine, whatever that is, before landing a plum job as a parliamentary aide. John Healey, his Chancellor of the Exchequer, was a journalist for the House of Commons in-house journal, The House magazine, before moving on to work in public relations for the unions. How these roles qualify them to run the nation’s finances is anyone’s guess.
As for Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, he claims to have been a solicitor before entering politics, which might have been something until it emerged he’s never actually finished his solicitor training.
Honestly, it’d almost be funny if the consequences weren’t quite so serious.
The opposition benches hardly fare any better. Kemi Badenoch’s last job was digital director of The Spectator. Ed Davey appears to have spent most of his working life employed by the Liberal Democrats, a depressing thought if ever there was one. As for the Greens’ Zack Polanski, the less said about his excursions into hypnotherapy the better.
Frankly, if a private company were failing as catastrophically as our government, shareholders wouldn’t tolerate the same failed boardroom hacks. They would bring in turnaround specialists immediately. That is precisely what Reform UK will do.
The career politicians are terrified of this approach, of course. They love their cosy monopoly. They want to convince the British public that governing a country is some mystical art form known only to those who have spent decades marching through the parliamentary lobbies.
Don’t believe a word of it. The British people are crying out for competent management.
The old parties have had their chance. They failed. Now it is time for people who know what real service looks like to step forward and help us fix broken Britain.
Angus MacIntyre has answered that call. Many more will follow. Our best days still lie ahead, I assure you. Just as long as we have the courage to choose experience over the same failed political class.
In America, of course, this is nothing new. Cabinet appointments are routinely plucked from specialist industries to run government departments. Yet here in Britain, we seem to recycle the same familiar political faces, moving them from one ministerial department to another, regardless of whether they have any real understanding of the sector they are supposed to oversee.
To grasp the sheer scale of Angus and Colin’s credentials, you only have to examine the deficit of genuine experience among the current political establishment. Take a look at the government frontbench. None have ever run a business or had to make a payroll. In fact, barely any of them even worked in the private sector at all – or at least not for very long.
Andy Burnham started out as a writer for Tank Container World magazine, whatever that is, before landing a plum job as a parliamentary aide. John Healey, his Chancellor of the Exchequer, was a journalist for the House of Commons in-house journal, The House magazine, before moving on to work in public relations for the unions. How these roles qualify them to run the nation’s finances is anyone’s guess.
As for Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, he claims to have been a solicitor before entering politics, which might have been something until it emerged he’s never actually finished his solicitor training.
Honestly, it’d almost be funny if the consequences weren’t quite so serious.
The opposition benches hardly fare any better. Kemi Badenoch’s last job was digital director of The Spectator. Ed Davey appears to have spent most of his working life employed by the Liberal Democrats, a depressing thought if ever there was one. As for the Greens’ Zack Polanski, the less said about his excursions into hypnotherapy the better.
Frankly, if a private company were failing as catastrophically as our government, shareholders wouldn’t tolerate the same failed boardroom hacks. They would bring in turnaround specialists immediately. That is precisely what Reform UK will do.
The career politicians are terrified of this approach, of course. They love their cosy monopoly. They want to convince the British public that governing a country is some mystical art form known only to those who have spent decades marching through the parliamentary lobbies.
Don’t believe a word of it. The British people are crying out for competent management.
The old parties have had their chance. They failed. Now it is time for people who know what real service looks like to step forward and help us fix broken Britain.
Angus MacIntyre has answered that call. Many more will follow. Our best days still lie ahead, I assure you. Just as long as we have the courage to choose experience over the same failed political class.
