Understanding the rational mind of the politician

George Hutchinson
12 March 2014

Twitter FacebookLinkedIn

Print

Topics 

Business

Business

Barely a day goes by without one business leader or other bemoaning the fact that there is no political leadership on the issues that matter (to them), says George Hutchinson.

And, when it comes to infrastructure it often feels as though, from Heathrow, HS2, fuel duty, planning, power generation, to road pricing, this sector gets the rawest deal. 

Decisions delayed, compromises reached, U-turns abound and projects fade under the pressure of escalating costs and political uncertainty. In turn, industry comes together and calls on the political classes to ‘take the politics out of the decision making process’. And as night follows day, a new commission is formed to review the evidence and come up with the best solution for the country. Yet stasis prevails and we fail to understand why.

Take Heathrow. Recent history tell us there are three political imperatives to Heathrow: the first is that you can’t expand it; the second is that you can’t close it; the third is that it is full. Politicians know something must be done, but they also recognise the political obstacles of doing so. If you were Vince Cable, MP for Richmond and Business Secretary, would you sign your own political death warrant and go against the wishes of your constituents, or would you side with local people who object for perfectly sensible reasons? 

The field of failed projects is littered with past battles of technical brilliance versus political reality. Business must listen to, understand and most importantly, recognise the legitimacy of others’ concerns. Then it needs to consider what it wants to do about it.

George Hutchinson.

Politicians are rational individuals and make judgements on the basis of the facts in front of them and we live in a country where the rule of law and the voice of the people counts. MPs may be firm supporters of a project in private, and some of them might even say so in public. But, making yourselves hugely unpopular with the people who every five years, either keep you in the job or kick you out, is totally irrational. 

To that end, politicians aren’t just concerned about the technical case, they also weigh up the political and emotional case, when considering the merits of a project. And, given who they are and what they do, that is a perfectly sensible, acceptable and predictable position to take. It isn’t altogether different from the business world, where CEOs take decisions on the basis of others views, including shareholders that occasionally go against their better judgement.

On questions of infrastructure it is, therefore, untenable for industry to continue to rely solely on a technical answer. For the field of failed projects is littered with past battles of technical brilliance versus political reality. Business must listen to, understand and most importantly, recognise the legitimacy of others’ concerns. Then it needs to consider what it wants to do about it.

Faced with the facts, emotional, political and technical, that either means finding a new solution, or working to change the terms of the existing debate. And, rather than shouting at our political masters, industry should be more minded of the challenge and focus its efforts on winning public support. 

To that end, the politician can only be taken out of the argument if industry puts the politics back in.  So, let’s walk in the politicians’ shoes a little more often. And, let’s not forget what we are asking of our politicians – what would you do if your job depended on it? 

George Hutchinson is a partner at consultant Stockwell Communications.