Karen Bradley’s admission exposes a lack of expertise in government

The Northern Ireland secretary confessed she had limited understanding of Northern Ireland and was initially “scared” of the region

Cian Fox
Cian Fox
Sep 7, 2018 · 3 min read

The Northern Ireland secretary has faced a barrage of criticism today after she claimed she knew little about Northern Ireland and the politics of the region before becoming secretary of state in January.

In an interview with the House magazine, the weekly publication for the Houses of Parliament, Bradley admitted she was unaware that elections are fought within nationalist and unionist communities and nationalists did not vote for unionist parties or vice-versa. On this fundamental aspect of politics in Northern Ireland, Bradley argued that Northern Ireland is a “very different world from the world I came from” and she had little knowledge “of the deep-seated and deep-rooted issues that there are in Northern Ireland”.

The former Culture secretary said her view of Northern Ireland was informed by the Troubles and that she was “slightly scared of Northern Ireland because of my impression and images from 20 years ago”.

Bradley’s admission exposes a basic lack of understanding that has become all too familiar in British politics. Government ministers change every few months, take Sajid Javid for example, the current Home secretary and an outside bet to replace Theresa May in the future; he was first the Culture secretary until the more appealing Business came calling, then after a brief spell, he became the slightly less juicy Housing and Local Government secretary for a few years, before parachuting into the Home Office to replace Amber Rudd. Javid has held seven government positions in six years, and while he appears to be a competent politician, I doubt even he would argue he is a complete expert in sport, energy, housing and immigration. And yet our system works to reward generalists, like Javid and Bradley, and ignore expertise.

In the EU referendum, Michael Gove claimed that ‘Britain has had enough of experts’, but in reality, our government has always been riddled with inexpertise. It seems absurd that departments such as Health are run by politicians who possess no experience or understanding of the health system. In this culture, it is hardly surprising politicians such as Bradley have little operational expertise or knowledge prior to becoming secretary of state. How can the Health secretary, for example, effect positive change and manage one of the world’s largest organisations, in the NHS, knowing they could be in charge of Defence or Environment in a few weeks? Ideally, ministers would cultivate an understanding on a range of political matters prior to becoming a politician in the first place, but as Bradley shows, this is often not the case.

For Bradley, the Northern Ireland secretary has done little to endear herself to the people of Northern Ireland. In the context of Brexit, her comments are not only painfully ignorant, but they also reinforce the view that Theresa May’s government and much of the English political class know nothing nor care about Northern Ireland, a belief that has gained increasing resonance after Brexit. The issue of the Irish border remains one of the most troublesome in the Brexit negotiations, and was hardly mentioned during the referendum campaign, to the bemusement of Northern Irish communities, who now share the UK’s only border with the EU — with the Republic of Ireland.

However, Bradley’s comments are just the latest instalment in a familiar refrain at the top of the British political system, where a lack of understanding and expertise is rewarded, as talentless ministers move around the government machine, with minimal impact, bluffing their way through crises and issues.

Cian Fox

Written by

Cian Fox

Student. 20. London/Leeds. Attempting political commentary and sports writing.

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