So which is the odd one out of MP, financial adviser, solicitor and company board member?
They all seem like serious and responsible jobs, don’t they? I guess if we put our heads together, we could actually come up with a variety of reasons to say that each role is the odd one out.
However, for now, let’s mark out the role of MP as the odd one out.
Why?
Financial advisers, solicitors and company board members may have other things in common, but the one I want to focus on is their fiduciary duty.
What that means is that anyone working in those roles is always required to act in the best interest of those they serve, even if that could mean carrying out an action that isn’t in their own best interest.
Members of Parliament have no such fiduciary duty to the people that they serve. Once elected, they’re completely free vote for things that may be in their own personal best interest, with no legal requirement to always act in the interests of their constituents.
As I discuss in Why Don’t Politicians Have A Fiduciary Duty?, enacting such a law isn’t straightforward, but even a weaker law could still offer significant benefits to society as a whole.