One of the justifications of the House of Lords is that it embodies ‘collective experience’. That is not a quality which the eternal rebel Jeremy Corbyn can cite on his CV.
Over many years, Romans developed a political system such that anyone who wanted to reach the top of the greasy pole and become consul had to have under his belt a considerable experience of government. The cursus honorum (‘race for honours’) consisted of a series of age-related hurdles that, at least in theory, had to be leapt before the winning of the ultimate prize.
To start with, it was taken for granted that a candidate would have serious military experience. Then the first hurdle was that of quaestor, at about age 30. That post was largely financial, devoted to administering the state treasury under the senate’s direction, whether at home or in a province.
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