Not great but certainly interesting. https://twitter.com/goodwinmj/status/1276995866453331977

One aspect struck me, hard: accountability is systematically seen as a nuisance and obstacle (side swipes at Public Accounts Committee, select committees, etc). No mention of law (save a slightly sinister reference at 120 to monitoring individual judges’ processing of cases).

And no awareness of the risks of unaccountable, process-free, government in, for example, procurement or subsidy: that procurement or subsidy goes to whoever grabs the ear, or the fancy, of the Minister or their adviser.

Improving the ability of Whitehall to manage contracts, take risks, and evaluate success is very important. Some good ideas. But brilliance and technical skill is no substitute for democratic and legal accountability.

As to getting government nearer people, the discussion from 60 focuses on moving central government to the regions. “Local government” isn’t mentioned once. Just a vague reference at 64 to “allowing communities to take back more control of the policies that matter to them”.

Otherwise, it’s simply changing “the man in Whitehall knows best” to “the brilliant data expert based in Newcastle knows best.”

So my overriding impression: behind the Gramsci and radical veneer, this speech by @michaelgove is the speech of a constitutional reactionary.

Here @jdportes is getting at I think much the same thing in a different way. https://twitter.com/jdportes/status/1277144128246161410?s=21 https://twitter.com/jdportes/status/1277144128246161410

If you ask yourself what you do about what Jonathan calls the “huge hole” - the failure not of our bureaucracy but of our politics - you see that @michaelgove sees no problem, and so has no solution. Indeed, attacks on accountability and process will make the “huge hole” worse.

And, here, excellent points by @anandMenon1: the enthusiasm for quantitative and rigorous analysis seems to stop at the door of the current Government’s vision of Brexit. https://twitter.com/anandmenon1/status/1277170008842477568?s=21 https://twitter.com/anandmenon1/status/1277170008842477568

And this is excellent on the dangers of a government culture that disdains transparency and scrutiny on the basis that they lead to defensive politics. https://www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-views-of-the-uk-2020-6-the-autocratic-virus/

(Also makes the point that centralisation, secrecy, and disdain for process may be hallmarks of the current government, but build on long run trends.)