The Effective Governance Forum
A cross party campaign
to improve public services
to increase productivity, to reduce costs by £100bn+
to increase voter control at a local level.
The mechanics of UK government are not working
Public services are poor and expensive
The public knows this and wants reform — 87% for the NHS, 82% for social care and policing, 78% for education.
Politicians also know this and have commissioned 17 major reports since Fulton in 1968 to try to to right the system. Not one has made a lasting difference.
The underlying reasons why none of these 17 reports succeeded
They all failed to diagnose that the underlying cause is the lack of professional management at the top. Government does not apply even the basic principles of good management.
The role of government has changed hugely over the last 100+ years. But the system of management remains much the same.
The blame for poor performance lies not with civil servants and politicians. They have impossible jobs. It is the system of government which leads to failure.
Our Objectives
Immediate action is needed
The two most successful Prime Ministers of the last 50 years, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, took nine years and seven years respectively before they attempted serious reform of the machinery of government.
With the dire state of the public services and the grave challenges facing the country, we cannot afford to wait that long again.
Thus the reform of management should be this government’s top priority.