The ministers of tomorrow should start preparing for the job today

From Labour backbenchers to newly-appointed members of the shadow cabinet, many MPs will hope to one day become a minister. Their path to government may vary, but – as our latest Ministers Reflect interviews show – they should use their time wisely to prepare to be as effective a minister as possible. The call to office may never arrive – but it could also happen at any time.

Ministers with delivery experience can understand how to get things done in government

Entering government can be a tough transition – ministers often find themselves at the top of a large bureaucracy with little sense of how government runs. This can be particularly difficult for ministers with private sector experience – with Alister Jack, Scotland secretary from 2019 to 2024, saying the processes of government were like “wading through treacle” compared to his pre-parliamentary career founding and managing businesses. Despite these frustrations, Jack also told us how his entrepreneurial background meant he could solve issues and get things done in government by going “direct to the source of the problem”.  

While ministers make decisions about which policies should be taken forward, they are also often responsible for monitoring progress on delivery – and, again, their experiences before entering parliament can help. Margaret Hodge found that her pre-parliamentary career as leader of Islington council made her “an implementer” who was able to understand “how policies can be translated into effect”, with Hodge’s work on early years policy in local government proving helpful in her role overseeing Sure Start centres as children’s minister from 2003 to 2005.

Opportunities in parliament can help develop expertise and build relationships

A large number of newly-elected MPs have already secured places on select committees – and they can use these positions to build relationships and develop policy expertise that could help in a future ministerial career. Select committees are well-trodden ministerial training grounds – four members of Keir Starmer’s cabinet previously chaired select committees, while Stephen Timms and Diana Johnson took up ministerial roles in the departments they had scrutinised as committee chairs.  

Margaret Hodge’s ministerial career was bookended by stints as committee chair. She told us how her time on the education and employment committee “strengthened my understanding of the education world”, and as children’s minister she introduced music into the early years curriculum after being inspired by a committee trip to Switzerland.  

In between Robert Halfon’s two stints as minister for skills and apprenticeships (2016–17 and 2022–24), he chaired the education select committee for five years. He built relationships with stakeholders which he then took into government – meaning “there was immense goodwill the second time” he served in the Department for Education. As committee chair, Halfon campaigned successfully on issues like prisoner apprenticeships – but it is ultimately ministers that have unique decision-making power.

The lowest rung on the government ladder is also a good place to gain experience and build connections on the journey to becoming a minister, with Halfon also serving as parliamentary private secretary to the then chancellor George Osborne. These roles aren’t just about being ‘bag carriers’ (though in a departure from the norm, Osborne actually carried Halfon’s briefcase) – they also involve building relationships with backbenchers and can give an insight into how the department works.

Constituencies play an important role keeping ministers in touch with public opinion

The other way that aspiring ministers can prepare for the possibility of office is by learning from their experiences as a constituency MP – and considering how to translate this into being in government. Hodge said that fending off the British National Party in her constituency showed her the need for politicians to connect with their voters, and she kept “the voice of the burghers of Barking” in mind during her time as a minister and as chair of the Public Accounts Committee in the 2010s.  

Crucially, constituencies can also allow aspiring ministers to do intelligence gathering and decide the issues they are passionate about and want to pursue in government. Halfon developed his interest in skills policy after speaking to constituents who were “desperate to do apprenticeships” in 2008, long before he entered government. Ministers in other countries don’t always have that direct link to local issues – as Chloe Smith (former work and pensions secretary) pointed out in her interview last year, being able to bring issues to the national stage as a minister is “a wonderful thing that we can try to do in Britain that perhaps doesn’t happen elsewhere”. And these constituency insights can bring a different perspective, with ministers exposing civil servants often to the value of constituency work – Robert Halfon said officials in the DfE’s London offices were a world away from his visits to the Harlow church fête, buying “a massive jar of chilli pickled onions”.

Being a minister is a unique job – the structures of government can be mystifying, the job requires deep expertise and building key relationships, and most ministers have to juggle their government responsibilities with their role as an MP. But it is clear that aspiring ministers can do plenty to prepare to ensure that  when the next reshuffle (or indeed, a change of governing party) comes around, they’ll be in prime position to deliver in government.