Professional development for politicians has become the new normal

In the UK, at the national level, there has been a culture of caution, or even scepticism, among politicians about professional development. That is no longer the case. Where previous generations of ministers, MPs or special advisers may have questioned its benefits, perhaps seeing a risk to their reputation of being seen as not knowing everything, newer intakes – across all parties – are increasingly recognising that investing in themselves to do their jobs better is worthwhile.

That’s why we’re pleased to see so many politicians engaging with professional development, or learning and development (L&D), and that more organisations – including our own IfG Academy – are catering to this need. Indeed, since the 2024 election, we have worked with almost half (49%) of all new MPs in one way or another, to help them hit the ground running and work out how they can achieve their goals.

Ministers and their shadows want to know how to best manage the government machine

Ministers, especially when new in post (or hoping soon to be in post), want to get to grips with the government machine and learn how they can make it work for them. Since the Institute was established, we have helped them do this – working with government ministers and opposition parties – and interest in this work continues to grow.

The current government is a case in point. Before the 2024 election, and having been in opposition for well over a decade, shadow Labour teams came to us to help them work out not what policies to pursue, but how the civil service works, how government has changed and how to get the best out of their officials to best enable them to make them a success.

Since the party entered government we have worked with over 50 ministers, in group workshops and individual discussions, to help them think about how they can achieve their goals. The IfG is also working with opposition parties in Wales and Scotland as they prepare for the May elections and the possibility of entering government, some for the first time.

The benefits of L&D are recognised at the very top of government, and of departments

We are especially pleased to see recognition of this kind of work at the very top of the government. In his January speech, the chief secretary to the prime minister Darren Jones laid out some of the ways the government is attempting to improve how government works. As well as launching  a new National School for Government and Public Service, to train civil servants and other public sector workers, Jones also called for ministers to play their part. To back this up he has recently undertaken his own “competency assessment” to identify how he can be more effective in his role, and the support from which he would benefit.

Ministers’ window onto their department is their private office – the small group of officials who support them day to day. Private offices need to do more to help ministers be as effective as possible. The IfG has been working with private office teams and recently launched an induction workshop for new private office staff to help them identify how they can best support their minister.

Special advisers are important but unsupported

Special advisers play a hugely important role inside government but get no guidance at all on how to do their jobs well. One of the challenges they face is that ministers themselves do not always know what they want or need from their advisers – relying on them for general support and seeing them as an ally when surrounded by civil servants, but not making the most of their ability to drive forward their political objectives across government.  

We can help here, and have worked with special advisers to help them think about how they can best support their ministers in different situations, such as crises, as well as helping them understand basics of government from devolution and public finances to legislation. Later this year the IfG will kick off detailed research to identify what support is most important and how it should be delivered.

Select committees want to scrutinise government effectively

We launched the IfG Academy in 2023 but our work in this area goes farther back. Since before the 2015 election, we have worked with select committees to help them identify how they can maximise their positive impact on government through scrutiny and accountability.  

Over the past decade we have seen a dramatic increase in backbenchers’ appetite for this sort of support – chairs and members now actively seek out our input to think about their impact, strategy and evaluation. We have now run over 100 workshops for both Commons and Lords committees and have seen a step change in the sophistication with which members are thinking about their committee work.

Politicians benefit from professional development

Politicians’ interest in professional development is rightly growing. Such support is not just about workshops and formal courses – politicians and other leaders also learn from conversations with peers and predecessors, personal reflection and experimentation on the job. And it is not just about learning about government – there are many skills and behaviours that can bolster politicians’ ability to get things done in government and beyond. This is something that leaders at local level have long known – the Local Government Association provides a variety of resources and programmes for councillors and council leaders – and it is welcome that national politicians are following suit.

The Institute is continually developing our range of products supporting ministers, opposition politicians, MPs and advisers. If you are interested in finding out more – whether as a politician or another organisation working in this space – please do get in touch with the IfG Academy.