The Disraeli Room
Welfare and Public Services
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Toby Blume: Some thoughts on Joining the Government of Britain
The Chief Executive of the Urban Forum on his Invitation from the Conservative Party
"...nothing would be beyond the realms of community management with a ‘right to bid’ to run any community service instead of the state. Maybe it’s just me, but that’s really got my mind racing at the possibilities... perhaps a community-led Parachute Regiment is just me being mischievous..."
Economy is in flow, not scale
Professor John Seddon tackles the iniquities of the Gershon analysis
"... The more services are fragmented and batch-processed, the worse and more expensive they get... Gershon has it the wrong way round. Cost reduction is a by-product of the focus on purpose and improvement, not vice versa..."
Where do trade unions fit in the Big Society
Civil empowerment is an admirable ideal - but it may require a broader definition of civil
"...The Big Society is an idea that hinges on a political willingness and ability to rebuild the civic, religious, political and social middle in modern Britain... following steep declines in the membership of almost all major civic institutions – from political parties to churches to trade unions. It is the latter case that is testing the Tories' mettle..."
Banning drugs is a political issue. Deal with it.
The fall out from Eric Carlin's resignation
"...Science is a crucial element of drugs policy, but should it be at its heart as Huhne suggests? If it was, how long before alcohol was made illegal? ..."
When Universities Become Production Lines
Why streamlined higher education means quality left behind
"...how can the quality of education be maintained through a reduction in budgets, a streamlining of services and an increase in student numbers all at the same time?..."
Desperately Seeking Savings
ResPublica's Deputy Director, Asheem Singh, on the enduring public sector procurement muddle - and the policies that will make it worse
"...as the leach towards centralisation begins with the bulk purchasing of paperclips, and evolves to the mass development of titan-care-homes, what price the emergence of the 'supersaver-tender,' and a Serco or similar super-service provider bidding for Government super-duper-contracts to get people into work, to house the homeless or to help tackle drug addiction with the 'tag line,' 'every little helps'..."
On Ineptitude in Public Services
Management Thinker and ResPublica Fellow, Simon Caulkin, on the critical path to better government illuminated by John Seddon's new book
"...Instead of standardising demand through dumb computers, you put knowledgeable, concerned people on the front line as the first port of call where they can absorb the myriad variety of human need and allow it to ‘pull’ the appropriate solution. Initial transaction costs go up – sharp intake of breath from factory managers at HMRC – but overall costs go sharply down as time and rework are reduced. Processing times fall from weeks to days; customers send cake and flowers instead of brickbats..."
The Customer and the Citizen
On the limits of government imitating business
"...The managerial trend within government, that began in the 1980's, during the feverish days of Thatcherism, has gradually spread and infiltrated to every facet of public services. This has become sometimes onerously evident for workers in the public sector with the emphasis on meeting targets. For the broad mass of the population, the trend has perhaps become notable in a subtle even seemingly insignificant way as there has been a change in the way we find ourselves addressed when using public services. We have now, it seems, become the customer..."
Are We About To Remake The Broken Middle?
ResPublica's Director, Phillip Blond, on why the debate is shifting towards ownership
"...The lack of self-critique on both left and right underpins the lack of economic vision and the dearth of transformative thinking. Where for instance will future British growth come from? Consider that the majority of our economic growth over the last ten years was in financial services, housing and the public sector, and this precisely is why radical public sector reform is a sine qua non of a transformative economic platform, and why today's news on the Conservatives' approach to co-operative ownership in the public sector is so exciting..."
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About the Disraeli Room
The Disraeli Room is ResPublica’s blog, dedicated to radical, progressive ideas and analysis. ResPublica’s experts, fellows and friends of all political stripes from the worlds of policy making, social innovation and entrepreneurship meet here to swap ideas, debate and provoke.
