It’s a very common feeling, but there are better explanations than “the UK hasn’t had a good politician in 40 years.”
Here’s a clearer way to think about it—without taking a partisan stance.
🇬🇧 Why people feel there haven’t been good politicians recently
1. Expectations have changed faster than politics has
Over the last 40 years:
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The internet arrived
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Media became 24/7
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Social media made outrage instantaneous
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Trust in institutions dropped across the world
Politicians today face an environment where every flaw is amplified, every phrase is clipped out of context, and compromise is framed as weakness. Even if someone is good, the public rarely sees it that way.
2. The job itself has become harder
Modern PMs and ministers have to deal with:
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Globalised markets
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International crises (2008 crash, COVID-19, Ukraine, migration)
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Far more complex domestic systems
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A civil service that is stretched and politicised
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An electorate that wants quick results from slow-moving institutions
Even strong leaders can look mediocre under that pressure.
3. Party structures filter out the best people
Both main parties have changed their internal selection processes:
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Local parties now choose MPs more for loyalty than capability
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Professional political staffers → MPs → ministers path creates a narrow talent pool
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High cost of living in politics filters out ordinary professionals
That means fewer experienced people from science, business, law, medicine, engineering, or the arts enter Parliament.
Result: less competence, more careerism.
4. “Good” often means “aligned with my values”
When people say a politician isn’t “good,” it often means:
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“They don’t represent my views”
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“They don’t deliver what I want”
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“The country feels worse than before”
Politics is inherently polarising, so a leader who half the country admires will be hated by the other half.
5. The UK has had effective politicians — just not universally admired ones
You may or may not like them, but in terms of impact:
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Margaret Thatcher radically reshaped the economy
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Tony Blair oversaw major constitutional reforms and long economic growth
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Gordon Brown was widely respected internationally for economic policy during the 2008 crash
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John Major helped deliver the Good Friday Agreement foundations
Whether they were “good” emotionally or morally is subjective—but they were competent and historically significant.
So has the UK had no good politicians?
The more accurate explanation is:
**→ The UK has had capable, influential, and sometimes principled politicians…
but the modern political and media environment makes it almost impossible for any leader to appear “good” in a broad, cross-society sense.**
In other words:
Politics hasn’t become uniquely bad — our ability to tolerate imperfection has.