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We have to stop the blunders in British politics We have to stop the blunders in British politics
(4 days later)
Someone should really invent a "blunderometer": a device for measuring the frequency and volume of the stupid and careless mistakes that governments make. If such a device existed, British governments of all parties would have achieved high scores in recent decades. It is too early to say for sure, but the present government might be in contention for racking up the highest score of all.Someone should really invent a "blunderometer": a device for measuring the frequency and volume of the stupid and careless mistakes that governments make. If such a device existed, British governments of all parties would have achieved high scores in recent decades. It is too early to say for sure, but the present government might be in contention for racking up the highest score of all.
The cock-up over the introduction of Andrew Lansley's NHS reforms is well known. So is the fiasco of the West Coast Mainline franchise – awarded, then un-awarded, a year later still to be re-awarded. The help-to-buy scheme risks inflating another house-price bubble. Some ministers, though not all, are fighting to prevent HS2 being shunted into a siding. Only this week Margaret Hodge – she who must be obeyed – condemned Iain Duncan Smith's hideously complicated universal credit as having all the hallmarks of an "out-of-control project". Sadly, David Cameron's omnishambolic administration is by no means Britain's first.The cock-up over the introduction of Andrew Lansley's NHS reforms is well known. So is the fiasco of the West Coast Mainline franchise – awarded, then un-awarded, a year later still to be re-awarded. The help-to-buy scheme risks inflating another house-price bubble. Some ministers, though not all, are fighting to prevent HS2 being shunted into a siding. Only this week Margaret Hodge – she who must be obeyed – condemned Iain Duncan Smith's hideously complicated universal credit as having all the hallmarks of an "out-of-control project". Sadly, David Cameron's omnishambolic administration is by no means Britain's first.
Whenever a major blunder has been committed, the temptation is to point the finger of blame at the individual ministers concerned. Because governments of all parties have committed so many blunders over so many years – think of the poll tax, the Child Support Agency and countless IT disasters – it points to more deep-seated flaws in the British governmental system as a whole. How is it possible for our blunderers to blunder so often?Whenever a major blunder has been committed, the temptation is to point the finger of blame at the individual ministers concerned. Because governments of all parties have committed so many blunders over so many years – think of the poll tax, the Child Support Agency and countless IT disasters – it points to more deep-seated flaws in the British governmental system as a whole. How is it possible for our blunderers to blunder so often?
The number is large, disconcertingly so. For one thing, British prime ministers – not just this one – are far less in control than they appear. They lack time, expertise and adequate staff, with the result that departmental ministers are often left to run amok. Lansley was out of control for months. The signs are that Michael Gove is effectively a privateer. Does the prime minister know what Eric Pickles is up to? Probably not. Tony Blair's inability to control Gordon Brown was only an extreme example of a common phenomenon. Even Margaret Thatcher backed the poll tax without any idea of what it entailed – including, eventually, contributing to her own destruction.The number is large, disconcertingly so. For one thing, British prime ministers – not just this one – are far less in control than they appear. They lack time, expertise and adequate staff, with the result that departmental ministers are often left to run amok. Lansley was out of control for months. The signs are that Michael Gove is effectively a privateer. Does the prime minister know what Eric Pickles is up to? Probably not. Tony Blair's inability to control Gordon Brown was only an extreme example of a common phenomenon. Even Margaret Thatcher backed the poll tax without any idea of what it entailed – including, eventually, contributing to her own destruction.
Although the House of Commons can occasionally veto a ministerial initiative it dislikes – witness the Syrian vote – it almost never does. More to the point, it lacks both the capacity and the will to participate fully in law-making, whether on Lansley's health service reforms, immigration, the universal credit or anything else. As a law-making assembly, as distinct from a noise-making one, it is virtually useless. It could not even halt the poll tax in its tracks, let alone devise a better alternative. The parliament in Edinburgh is more effective.Although the House of Commons can occasionally veto a ministerial initiative it dislikes – witness the Syrian vote – it almost never does. More to the point, it lacks both the capacity and the will to participate fully in law-making, whether on Lansley's health service reforms, immigration, the universal credit or anything else. As a law-making assembly, as distinct from a noise-making one, it is virtually useless. It could not even halt the poll tax in its tracks, let alone devise a better alternative. The parliament in Edinburgh is more effective.
Ministers seek to hoard power, and mostly succeed. They are the system's movers and shakers. But, apart from chancellors and foreign secretaries, they seldom stay in the same post for long. Even if they are any good – many of them are not – they have every incentive to prosper politically in the here and now, but almost none to contemplate how today's decisions will look in 10 years' time .Ministers seek to hoard power, and mostly succeed. They are the system's movers and shakers. But, apart from chancellors and foreign secretaries, they seldom stay in the same post for long. Even if they are any good – many of them are not – they have every incentive to prosper politically in the here and now, but almost none to contemplate how today's decisions will look in 10 years' time .
Although detailed evidence is lacking, civil servants seem to move around at least as rapidly. Since the 2010 election, the Department for Transport, responsible for the rail franchising fiasco, has had three cabinet ministers in charge and four "permanent" secretaries. Ministers were once there to take the high-level political decisions. Senior civil servants were once there to provide continuity, experience and specialist expertise. No longer, it seems. Both ministers and officials are under continuous pressure to act at speed – one might almost say on speed. Innumerable blunders arise from ministers' ignoring the old saying "Haste makes waste".If officials and their ministerial bosses move constantly and typically lack expertise, it is hardly surprising that issues that could easily be dealt with are often neglected.Although detailed evidence is lacking, civil servants seem to move around at least as rapidly. Since the 2010 election, the Department for Transport, responsible for the rail franchising fiasco, has had three cabinet ministers in charge and four "permanent" secretaries. Ministers were once there to take the high-level political decisions. Senior civil servants were once there to provide continuity, experience and specialist expertise. No longer, it seems. Both ministers and officials are under continuous pressure to act at speed – one might almost say on speed. Innumerable blunders arise from ministers' ignoring the old saying "Haste makes waste".If officials and their ministerial bosses move constantly and typically lack expertise, it is hardly surprising that issues that could easily be dealt with are often neglected.
Whatever their intrinsic merits, bright ideas such as the poll tax, Lansley's NHS reforms and the universal credit quickly lose their lustre when exposed to the damp, dark, real world. Implementation is a dull word, but no policy is better than officials' capacity to implement it. People often talk about the need to improve the quality of British democracy. The far more pressing need is to improve the quality of British government.Whatever their intrinsic merits, bright ideas such as the poll tax, Lansley's NHS reforms and the universal credit quickly lose their lustre when exposed to the damp, dark, real world. Implementation is a dull word, but no policy is better than officials' capacity to implement it. People often talk about the need to improve the quality of British democracy. The far more pressing need is to improve the quality of British government.
Anthony King is professor of government at Essex University and co-author with Ivor Crewe of The Blunders of Our Governments, to be published next weekAnthony King is professor of government at Essex University and co-author with Ivor Crewe of The Blunders of Our Governments, to be published next week
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