Whatever its rights or wrongs, at its very least the British democratic system ensures that we are ruled by people we elect. If we don’t like them we can vote them out and they lose their jobs.

This is not wholly true. At the moment there are 18 Government ministers who are unelected, all but one of whom are Lords. Several are donors to the Tory party and many have been made Lords in order to do the jobs they have been given.  In some cases there are conflicts of interest between the jobs these people do and their Government roles. It seems unlikely that they have gone through a formal selection process.

In effect, these people have got their Government jobs because they are mates of senior Tories, move in the same circles and are willing to do exactly what they are told in return for power.

The hypocrisy is breathtaking. Can you imagine the fuss the Government would make if a Labour local authority gave paid jobs to people who had not gone through a proper selection process, or worse, who were known socially to the elected members?

There is no reason at all in a democracy why positions of power in Government should be given to unelected people. At best it is misuse of public funds and at worst it is corruption.

List of unelected Government Ministers

 

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