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Mark Todd

 

I became Member of Parliament for South Derbyshire on May 1, 1997 and stood down when Parliament was dissolved on April 12, 2010. In that time I was contacted by more than 15,000 households (around one in four of those in the area). This website provides information on my work, both in and on behalf of the constituency.
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Politicians and people management - 11:11 am, Thu 4th Mar 2010

Some of you may have followed the stories concerning Gordon Brown's behaviour toward both Tony Blair and his staff. I have no personal knowledge! However the broad picture was already known. Few doubted that Brown and Blair had a poor relationship much of the time and that Brown wanted Blair's job. We have gained a few anecdotes which back that up. Finding out that Brown has a temper, particularly when under stress, is also not earth-shattering news. If that temper went further than aggressive rudeness into genuinely bullying behaviour I'd be surprised. However there is a broader point which has been missed.
 
The Cabinet Secretary was challenged on the truth of the allegations made, as they related to his actions. He replied that he had spoken to Gordon Brown about how to get the best from his staff. In my experience that advice could have been offered to a large number of politicians.
 
It is a job which seems to attract many people who have had no material experience in making a complex organisation work or in how to manage people. Blair has one of the best strategic brains in politics and an ability to digest and explain complex issues simply. However his past experience had been limited to the legal profession requiring minimal person-management skills. Brown was a university lecturer and a journalist before becoming an MP. Cameron, should he become Prime Minister, worked in PR. These backgrounds give little practical experience in getting the best from staff or in how to select staff to fill spaces in their own capabilities. There is no process for understanding the backgrounds and experience of MPs so that whatever capabilities they may have are used effectively. There is no "human resources" function in politics to identify career paths and training needs. It is therefore scarcely surprising that people management tasks are at best hit and miss.

Democracy obviously delivers an unplanned and miscellaneous group and we must live with that. But I believe we don't use what we have in any coherent framework.  

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