The next chapter: from Reform to Re:State
Chief Executive
Listen to our Director, Charlotte Pickles, discussing the name change with Matt Chorley on BBC Radio 5 live.
Almost a quarter of a century. That’s how long Reform think tank has been shaping the debate on public service reform. Or to put it another way, longer than several of the team have been alive!
That’s almost 25 years of producing policy papers that challenge the status quo and lay out a better way forward – one that can deliver better outcomes for citizens and better value for money for taxpayers.
And over that time we have built a phenomenal network of reform-minded friends, supporters, partners and subscribers. We have firmly established ourselves as a go-to voice for the media, parliamentarians, civil servants, and local government and public service leaders looking for serious analysis and innovative thinking. We have consistently had our ideas picked up by government and implemented, clearly demonstrating our impact.
Reform think tank is known for all this. But we’re also known for being strictly independent and cross-party – something that is core to our charitable status – and so when the Brexit Party decided it loved our name so much it had to have it, that created a problem for us. And it created confusion for the public.
At the time – knowing this would be the case – we asked The Electoral Commission to prevent the Brexit Party from becoming Reform UK. Despite their mission to “work to promote public confidence in the democratic process and ensure its integrity”, it seems this only narrowly encompasses confusion at the ballot box. Confusion among the electorate in between elections is not their concern (and we do get voters writing to us, offering to stand in elections, wanting to become members, following up donations, asking questions, all of which is intended for the political party).
Which means, after much thought and broad discussion, that we have taken the decision to change our name.
Like so many things, from a burning platform is born something exciting. And we couldn’t be more excited to become Re:State.
Our new name reflects our legacy, builds on our momentum, and looks ahead to our vision of the State remade. It also reinforces our strictly independent, cross-party charitable status, ending the confusion created by the Brexit Party renaming as Reform UK.
In the process we’ve also taken the opportunity to revamp some of our much-loved outputs. Our weekly newsletter, ‘The Week’, becomes ‘The Re:View’, our snap analyses, published whenever something big happens in government, becomes ‘Re:Act’, and our blog becomes ‘Re:Think’. If you’re not signed up, what are you doing? Get on it – for insights straight to your inbox sign up here.
And to mark this new chapter, we are honoured that 19 leading public figures from across the political spectrum have written short essays for us. The ‘Re:Think’ collection compellingly makes the case for radical reform. As Lord Mark Sedwill, former Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service, says:
“Today marks the launch of Re:State, a renewed think tank dedicated to one clear mission: bold ideas to remake the State. This moment demands nothing less.”
In starting this new chapter as Re:State, we are building on an incredible legacy of ideas, and an incredible history of partners, supporters and champions from politics, government, industry and civil society.
In my opening essay for the Re:Think collection I write:
“Fundamental questions must be posed about the shape and role of the State, about what it should do and where we, as citizens and civil society must step up. About the role of central versus local government. About how we hold these systems to account. And about where government should step back and where it should be more muscular.”
In the coming years we will answer those questions.
Get in touch and help us do that. Let’s Re:Make the State.
Read more about our history here.