Mere months into office, and Labour have already made plans to expand the size of the state. More than a dozen new public bodies have been announced, and if history is our blueprint then these could just be the start.
If you care about pursuing governmental efficiency and guaranteeing taxpayer value for money, then this is a subject worth paying close attention to over this Parliament. In 2021, the Cabinet Office published a guide on the then 295 public bodies. Their total annual spend came to a significant £224 billion.
We should be grateful it’s not higher; when David Cameron became Prime Minister in 2010 there were around 700 such entities.
There are valid questions to be asked about whether Labour’s new quangos will be of true benefit to the public. As yet we know very little about how they will be run – or, critically, by whom.
This second point highlights a problem for our party which has its roots in Gordon Brown’s time as Prime Minister.
In 2012, Fraser Nelson wrote about how the Downing Street team had in Brown’s time been devoted to seeding public bodies with partisan allies. Laying the groundwork for a “government-in-exile”, it was designed to reinforce Labour whether in power or opposition and therefore served to otherwise frustrate any Conservative reform agenda.
To give you an idea of the scale of the operation: the Institute of Government reports that “of the 1,439 UK government regulated appointments and reappointments in 2020/21, 576 appointment decisions were made by ministers.” That’s about 40 per cent.
It was clearly a fruitful political strategy. The TaxPayers’ Alliance has been sounding the alarm on the lack of representational balance within public bodies for years, noting a disproportionate amount of appointees’ declared political activities helping Labour.
Funded by taxpayers, favouring Labour, largely free from the level of democratic scrutiny to which elected representatives are subjected… and yet still free to influence public discourse. Quite the setup.
In recent weeks it’s been uncovered that Labour have been offering top civil service positions to significant party donors and allegedly other loyal supporters too. That, in addition to the early stage expansion of public bodies, should trigger our warning sirens.
We must be alert to the possibility that we could be at the earliest stages of a reinvigorated Brown-ite strategy to reinforce Labour’s political influence in charities, quangos, think tanks, and seemingly the Civil Service. Like Japanese knotweed, once it takes root, quiet and under the surface, it is very hard to extricate.
The first step in combating this cronyism is to shine a spotlight on this alleged abuse of power, as Andrew Griffith, Henry Newman, and many others are valiantly and doggedly doing. Labour cannot be allowed to duck accountability simply because they are fresh in post and we are in the midst of a leadership contest.
Next, we must fight fire with fire – consider this a clarion call to all Conservative supporters to proactively apply for public appointments. ConservativeHome provides a valuable service by regularly publicising available vacancies. I wonder how many of us take this seriously and genuinely consider applying?
It behoves us to try to ensure that these bodies reflect the true balance of political thought in our country, not just the hue of the party currently at the helm.
Indeed when Francis Maude proposed the reform of public bodies in 2011, he told the Commons that:
“State activity, if needed at all, should be undertaken by bodies that are democratically accountable at either national or local level. A body should only exist as a quango if it meets one of three tests, to which all existing public bodies have been subjected. These tests are: Does it perform a technical function? Do its activities require political impartiality? Does it need to act independently to establish facts?”
He was right then, and we should do our best to ensure this impartiality is continued now we are in opposition.
At its best, the Conservative Party seeks to be the champion of fair play and meritocracy. We believe in the value of each individual’s contribution, regardless of their political allegiance.
It is this core philosophy that must guide us as we seek to ensure balance and integrity in our public institutions: campaigning to reform systems where they need to be improved, and perhaps re-examining ideas like those proposed by Policy Exchange in 2013.
Labour must not be allowed to get away unchallenged attempting a silent takeover of our public bodies. In our new role as the official Opposition, it is our duty to expose any improper governmental practices. After all, as Henry Hill wrote recently: if we don’t do it, then who will?
This article was first publish on ConservativeHome on 2nd September 2024.
Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash