UK Govt. Seeks 'Weirdos' And 'Unusual' Professionals To Reform Bureaucracy Ahead Of Brexit

There are "profound problems" in the way the U.K. makes the most important state decisions, and "unusual people" and "weirdos" can help solve them, according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's key aide.

What Happened

In a blog post on Thursday, Chief Special Advisor to Johnson, Dominic Cummings said that the upcoming Brexit, which details the U.K.'s exit from the E.U., will require many policy changes, and the government is "prepared to take risks" to shake things drastically.

"A new government with a significant majority and little need to worry about short-term unpopularity while trying to make rapid progress with long-term problems," Cummings said.

To this effect, Cummings said that 10 Downing Street, the U.K. government's headquarter, is seeking to hire an "unusual set of people" that bring a different set of skills and talents across verticals, including economists, data scientists, policy experts, and software developers.

Cummings also claimed that there's a need for "true cognitive diversity" in the way the government selects the civil servants.

"People in [South Western district of London] talk a lot about ‘diversity,' but they rarely mean ‘true cognitive diversity.' They are usually babbling about ‘gender identity diversity blah blah,' Cummings said.

"We need some true wild cards, artists, people who never went to university and fought their way out of an appalling hell hole."

The Johnson-led Conservative and Unionist Party swept through the general elections in December last, winning a clear majority on the back of a "Get Brexit Done" campaign.

Posted In: GovernmentNewsEurozonePoliticsGlobalMarketsGeneralBoris JohnsonBrexitUK
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