The Economist 14Dec2019

The EconomistDecember 14th 2019 19

M

any a politicalcareer will end in

failure this week as voters have their

say at the polling booth. But at least losers

can look forward to a comfortable afterlife.

General elections, and the upheaval they

entail, send waves of public servants into

the welcoming arms of companies, banks,

consulting firms and other outfits.

The biggest exodus on record was of se-

nior Tories after Labour’s 1997 triumph. De-

parting ministers and civil servants

snapped up 175 jobs between them in

1996-98, according to a report by the Advi-

sory Committee on Business Appoint-

ments (acoba), a Cabinet Office body.

acobawas founded in 1975 to vet moves of

political and civil-service big beasts into

the private sector. It cannot stop people

taking jobs, but attaches conditions. An-

other epic spin of the “revolving door”

came after Labour’s defeat in 2010, when

scores of ex-mps landed in corporate jobs.

After 2015 dozens more Liberal Democrat

and other losing mps moved on.

Fast-forward to 2020, and acoba’s

workload is likely to hit another peak. Giv-

en the erratic polls, big-name politicians

have probably been scoping out possibili-

ties just in case. But this year’s cohort will

be seeking jobs when private-sector pay-

days for top public servants face particular

scrutiny. acoba is under attack for being

toothless. The body is also looking for a

new boss, who may tighten its procedures.

Corporate jobs are by now a normal late

chapter of a civil-service or political career.

Before the 1990s it was Tory grandees who

went off to plum posts in the City, says

Richard Brooks of Private Eye, a muck-rak-

ing magazine, but after Labour got close to

business everyone started doing it. acoba

examines the post-retirement jobs of only

top people—ministers, permanent secre-

taries and directors-general. Between 150

and 200 cases come up a year. More priv-

ate-sector jobs are taken by mps, chiefs of

staff and less-senior civil servants, which

are signed off by government departments.

Beneficiaries argue that having public-

service-minded people in companies is a

good thing. The private sector is in effect

subsidising public-sector pay, they say,

helping recruit the best talent into public

life. Salaries are higher in the corporate

world by a factor of between three and 25.

Yet the likes of the Eyekeep highlighting

controversial cases. A series of official re-

ports, including by the parliamentary Pub-

lic Administration and Constitutional Af-

fairs Committee (pacac) that oversees

acoba, has examined potential abuses and

recommended reform. Ministers increas-

ingly seek employment in areas where they

used to run policy. acoba’s main condition

is to require former public servants not to

lobby their old department on behalf of

their new employer, for two years. But the

real worry is that jobs may be rewards for

decisions taken while in office.

A few notorious cases have poisoned

the well for others, complains one prexec-

utive, whose firm has hired many a poli-

tico. Tony Blair’s post-office earning spree

was embarrassing. A few years ago Sir Ed

Davey, a former energy minister and now

Trust in politics

The sweet hereafter

The revolving door between public life and big business spins ever faster

Britain

20 Ex-MPs with odd jobs

20 British nationals in Hong Kong

22 Grime music up north

Also in this section

Britain’s general election

This week’s issue of The Economistgoes to press before the results of the general

election will be known. Subscribers with digital access will be able to read a special

election edition on our apps on December 13th. And all subscribers will be able to

read our analysis of the results, free, online at economist.com/UKelection

Bagehot is covering the

election online

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