Conservative Party conference: A Conservative vision to remake the State
Directory of Strategy
After fourteen years in power, the shape of the State the Conservative Party left behind them is very similar to the one they inherited from Labour in 2010. Larger in some areas, and smaller in others, but one with broadly the same approach to delivering public services, and to paying for them. With notable exceptions like education, where Michael Gove’s school reforms remade a whole sector, and a mixed picture of welfare reforms which controlled out-of-work benefits but kickstarted a massive expansion in sickness benefits, the Conservatives left the State much as they found it.
A future Conservative government would likely face different challenges to the last one. What would a Conservative vision for remaking the State to meet those challenges look like? Here are my three reflections on the panel discussion we had with Claire Coutinho, Alex Burghart, and Charlotte Pickles, our Director:
What should the State do, and not do?
Some things are essentials for a State. Defence of the realm, and the rule of law. Others are more flexible, with different countries and governments having a different role for the State. The Conservative government should ask some fundamental questions about what the role of the State is, and which bit of the State. Would they continue the Labour Government’s plans for teeth brushing programmes in schools? Would they continue their own approach to local government, with Ministers deciding which individual local authorities will be funded for public chess tables? Time will tell.
Do we want a State to be relational?
Everyone calls for a State which is more relational, more person-centric, and more flexible to accommodate individual needs. But is that really possible, for a State which also needs to apply consistent rules to people in the justice, tax and welfare systems for fairness? Claire reminded us that “humanity has all these moments of magic”, based on individual relationships and personalised interactions, and large bureaucratic organisations will always be a poor substitute for those. When we ask for the State to be more relational, are we crowding out the roles of families, communities, personal responsibility and enterprise?
How can the State be shaped by the silent majority, not vested interests?
Panellists reflected on how in Government, organised groups and vested interests have an outsized role in affecting the policy process. Whitehall finds it easier to listen to “stakeholders” and representatives rather than the best interests of the public. A Conservative vision for remaking the State needs to avoid capture by parts of the system that are suited to a very different model of government, and whose interests aren’t aligned with the principles that the party adopts.