This note summarises developments following the election of the Labour (Keir Starmer) Government on 4 July 2024.
His relationship with the civil service began positively: "From the get go, I want you to know that you have my confidence, my support and, importantly, my respect."
He was less positive in a speech in December 2024:
Make no mistake – this plan will land on desks across Whitehall…With the heavy thud of a gauntlet being thrown down. A demand, given the urgency of our times… For a state that is more dynamic… More decisive… More innovative…Less hostile to devolution and letting things go…Creative - on the deployment of technology…Harnessing its power to rethink services…Rather than replicate the status quo in digital form.
...
Country first, party second. Because this is something we’ve totally lost sight of in British politics… And, to be honest, across Whitehall as well. I don’t think there’s a swamp to be drained here… But I do think too many people in Whitehall are comfortable in the tepid bath of managed decline. Have forgotten, to paraphrase JFK… That you choose change, not because it’s easy… But because it’s hard.
David Henig commented:
Big talk of action, but no reflection that officials do their jobs of pursuing the many different interests of a modern government. It is for the centre of government led by Ministers to reconcile and prioritise by making decisions that may be unpopular. They often won't. ... Many people don't seem to realise that the whole government machine coordinates because policy crosses departmental lines. [It is] second nature. The issue is always how to reconcile differences. That needs political leadership. ... What I see is politicians demanding the pain-free option, which doesn't exist. And denying the need for process to show the fairness of decisions. Ending with inaction and secrecy.
There's a decision ministers could take today which would demonstrate action in support of growth and Whitehall would be empowered. That is to align with EU goods regulations unless there's a good reason not. Who is not making that decision? Whitehall, or Ministers?
Maybe this time it will work. But I just see the same words as previous governments, which assume there are magic solutions that somehow haven't been deployed before to achieve growth, a well functioning NHS, etc. Sure, you can improve. But I don't see enough recognition of underlying issues.
[I] don't like the cross-party consensus that 'Whitehall' is to blame for the UK's recent failings, whether it is because it is too woke or too timid. Very convenient for politicians though.
[In response to Starmer's criticism of a £100m bat tunnel and no reservoirs being built for for 30 years.] So where is the commitment to revoke all laws that protect bat habitats? Not happening, presumably, and for good reason. So we have Schrodinger's Bat, perhaps - one that is legally protected but where that protection doesn't affect any construction.