With all the talk about whether Pete Buttigieg has enough transportation experience, I do find it interesting that in the US there is some sort of expectation that Cabinet Secretaries will have experience in the field they are appointed to. Perhaps that’s because there is a wide field to choose from.
In the UK, we rarely have Cabinet Ministers who are experienced in the field, as they are appointed from about 330 (give or take) MPs from the side which won the election. Civil servants generally see the Minister’s role as one of being a disinterested arbiter and policy setter. We want someone who is quick to learn, and who can weigh up the evidence, costs, and benefits without preconceived positions. Political advisers attached to their office can recommend how options will play politically. Ministers often move departments a few times in their careers. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of a single Transport Secretary in the UK who has transportation experience.
[Just went to look, and since I have been able to vote, there have been lawyers, academics, career politicians, writers, someone who worked for Michael Dukakis in 88 (!), a printer, a TV exec, a miner, a financier, and an entrepreneur. The last sold used cars inter alia, which sort of qualifies at an enormous stretch. Finally I forgot John Prescott, who was a merchant seaman for many years.]
I don’t generally comment on UK policies, so I leave it to you to work out whether the US or the UK’s system is better. To pluck an example at random, try the work of...Chris Grayling.
