AS ENGINEERS, we try to understand and influence government policy, or complain about how poor it is in the engineering arena. But policy is usually based on what politicians perceive as vote winners, or on their personal interests, rather than on evidence. This is not surprising - few politicians have a scientific or engineering training. And many of them go from student political activism to political advisor to politician without having had a 'real' job, or any experience of business or industry. As former IET president Andy Hopper says, there should always be an engineer or technologist in the Cabinet, ensuring wise decisions and a balanced Cabinet.
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