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Raging against the machine: how prime ministers can deal with the frustration of not getting things done

Potential prime ministers need to think about how they will govern.

In an interview with the FT today, David Cameron complains about the “buggeration factor” of trying to “force policy through the system, with its consultations and reviews”. Earlier in the week, Lord Falconer set out Labour’s plans to avoid such frustration, if it wins office, by creating more powerful support around the PM. Both sentiments show that potential prime ministers need to think about how they will govern.

David Cameron is less than his normal 'chillaxed' self about the problems of getting things done in government. At one level he should not beat himself up so much: his government, despite being a coalition, has cut civil service numbers to record lows; started to get on top of the deficit; and managed to push through major reforms in health, education, criminal justice, welfare and pensions – to name just a few. Clearly that is not good enough for him. However, it is far from clear that “consultations and reviews” are his biggest problem. In coalition, getting policy agreement internally is always going to need more formal process – something noted at this week’s Institute for Government event on the prospects for a second coalition. But some of David Cameron’s biggest problems have their roots in a lack of consultation, or at least a failure to pay attention to the results of consultation – as Andrew Lansley admitted to IfG senior fellow Nick Timmins, during the research of our study of the health reforms. More front-end haste does not necessarily lead to quicker, more effective implementation. Indeed, the commitment in the Civil Service Reform Plan to make ‘open policymaking’ the default approach suggests that at least some of those inside government are committed to a policymaking process that is more consultative and, arguably, slower in development. It’s also worth recalling that when David Cameron came to office, he promtly dismantled the limited machinery his predecessors had created to deliver their priorities. As we noted in our report Centre Forward, the Policy Unit was shrunk, the Strategy Unit disbanded and the Delivery Unit was put into cold storage. It took two years to realise that a small and inexperienced Policy and Implementation Unit, trying to oversee progress through business plans, was not fit for purpose. These days, a prime minister needs the capacity to check up on his priorities and assure delivery – and when that was realised, today’s more powerful and well-staffed Implementation Unit was created. Now Labour appears to be planning to build on what David Cameron has created, rather than reverse it. “We have focused in the discussions about how you make a strong centre, by which I mean you have a prime minister’s office that is able to evaluate and drive policy in the priority areas of the government,” said Falconer. “It needs to be able to monitor implementation of policy, and give adjustments and drive where it is not being adequately implemented”. For a prime minister frustrated about implementation, there is something else that is important. We have argued that the Cabinet Office – like its counterparts in Australia or Canada – should have the capacity to challenge policies up-front on ‘implementability’, ensuring that the government doesn’t make political commitments that it will find difficult or impossible to implement in a timely and cost-effective way. At the moment, the Implementation Unit and Major Projects Authority generally only get involved once a policy has been agreed, announced and legislated. Politicians might regard such up-front challenges as another annoying “consultation and review”, which gets in the way of their grand vision and risks sapping momentum. But they could save a lot of frustration – and much “buggeration” of prime ministers, service users and taxpayers – as policies move from the spotless clarity of the drawing board into the messy world of delivery.
Position
Prime minister
Administration
Cameron government
Public figures
David Cameron
Publisher
Institute for Government

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