Throughout society there is an issue with ruthless amoral people - some with psychopathic and narcissistic traits - attaining positions of power. This applies particularly to politics, but also to higher levels of the police force and in education. Clearly, many leaders have good qualities, but power is especially attractive to ruthless amoral people, who cause massive amounts of damage. This is partly a social issue, since we tend to value leaders with these traits. However, surely there needs to be rigorous psychological assessment, especially in politics? Candidates could be assessed for levels of empathy and conscience, and to identify traits such as narcissism and sociopathy. We call on the government to support and debate this idea, and introduce legislation to this effect.