Labour’s missions are at risk of failing unless the government does more to involve the whole country from businesses to the wider public, as the age of “command and control” is over, a report from Demos has warned.
The thinktank called on the government to embrace “mass mobilisation” for businesses, charities, unions and the wider public to drive its flagship missions, which promise growth, clean energy, cutting crime, rebuilding the NHS and reforming education.
While Keir Starmer has talked of “reshaping the state” to make it work better for people, there are differing views within Whitehall about how best to achieve his missions – with some “reformers” wanting to empower communities and frontline services who know how best to make changes, but others preferring a more Blairite “command and control” approach that wields power from central government.
Demos’s report warns that central government cannot hope to deliver its missions by itself, arguing that the “command and control” model will not work when it comes to driving reform – and central government will have to learn better how to let go of power.
When announcing his NHS shake-up, Wes Streeting took more power back into the Department of Health and Social Care by abolishing NHS England, but has promised to devolve more to the frontline organisations responsible for delivering healthcare.
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, also insisted on Sunday that she was cutting back office costs by 15% in order to fund more frontline services.
But Demos said more involvement was needed from the public, business and civil society. It suggested involving the public more directly in how to achieve the missions, through participatory methods, and encouraging more active citizenship through volunteering.
It also recommended creating external “mission councils” attached to specific, concrete missions to encourage collective action of all sectors and civil society in achieving the government’s goals.
Polly Curtis, the chief executive of Demos, said: “The missions promised a new way of governing around clear priorities and through partnership between state, business and society. If the government tries to achieve its missions through command and control structures it will fail. The radical approach is to put partnership at the heart of government and forge a new way for the country to move forward together.”
No 10 has already created a new “partnerships unit” aimed at fostering more collaboration with wider society.
But the report, backed by the outsourcing company Serco and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, said there was still a risk of Whitehall being too inward-facing.
“There are structural and institutional barriers to mass mobilisation around missions,” it said. “There is a risk that those in Westminster and Whitehall spend too much of their time focused on internal changes and the government’s legislative programme. These changes are necessary, but not sufficient. We are concerned that the government might miss the opportunity it has in the next year or two to mobilise all actors across the country around shared national missions.”
The Cabinet Office has been approached for comment.
