Active, assertive, anointed, absconded? Testing claims about career politicians in the United Kingdom

Abstract

We undertake a comprehensive investigation into several common critiques of career politicians. Career politicians are said to be self-serving. Active and assertive when it suits their career interests, and much more interested in attaining higher offices than in serving as constituency-oriented MPs. Yet, empirical investigations of their alleged behaviours are few, and the results are patchy and mixed. Focusing on the UK case and using a multi-dimensional conceptualisation that accords with academic and popular understandings of career politicians, our paper draws on uniquely rich attitudinal and longitudinal behavioural data covering the first large generational wave of career politicians to be elected to parliament in the early 1970s. It reports findings consistent with contemporary critiques, suggesting that such dispositions are inherent in the role of career politician. The strongest career politicians among this first wave concentrated strategically on career-serving activities, voted strategically to safeguard their careers, attained and retained successfully ministerial offices, and prioritized their personal goals over their party obligations. The paper further demonstrates that different measures used by researchers can produce contradictory results, and that future comparative research should seek to range beyond unidimensional indicators.