Is it really only five years since the last general election? Think back to December 2019, when Boris Johnson stood in Downing Street and promised to make 2020 a year of “growth and hope”. You’d probably barely heard of a novel virus appearing in China (unless you’re an emergency planner).
The pandemic was only the start. It’s becoming clichéd to list the geo-political forces which have shaped the last five years: Russia-Ukraine; soaring inflation; the ever-more apparent impact of climate change; the decline of a rules-based international order. Closer to home, we’ve had the still-unfolding impact of Brexit; Partygate; a war on “woke Whitehall”; strikes; and ministerial churn on a grand scale.
Against this backdrop, individually and collectively, civil servants worked tirelessly to deliver creative new policies, international events, royal ceremonies and under-the-radar reforms. For all their hard work, however, there is a sense across the nation of half a decade where nothing has been done, and everything has got worse.
It’s perhaps no wonder that officials we speak to are excited about the prospect of change on 5 July. And no, that’s not because they are all Labour stooges. Rather that a new administration brings hope of political stability, clear direction, and – whisper it softly – even some long-term thinking.
Civil servants also enjoy the unique role they play in our democratic process. While we at CSW Towers will have done our duty once we’ve left the polling station, you, dear readers, will be just beginning your duty of welcoming, briefing and supporting the people the electorate have voted into power.
Despite a glut of prime ministers in recent years, it’s been a while since we had what the polls suggest is coming this week: a new party with a new mandate and fresh ideas about how to enact it. Officials are, of course, already thinking hard about how to make a success of such a transition. We hope that the 12-page election special – full of wisdom and practical advice from a range of experts – in our summer issue will further support this process.
And, if 12 pages feels too onerous, the overwhelming message for officials is this: focus on the basics, but seize the chance to make things better. A new administration needs clear briefings and informed advice about how to turn pledges into policies, and policies into outcomes. These are core civil service skills and getting them right will establish credibility with incoming ministers and help build frank but respectful relationships. As for delivery, take the opportunity of a mission-led government (which Labour says it favours) to embrace a more collaborative, long-term, citizen-centred approach to the design and implementation of policy. And enjoy it: this is, after all, one of the most satisfying ways for civil servants to work.
Should Labour come to power, it’s also worth remembering that many of the incoming ministers will never have been in government. A key task for officials will be to help them understand the levers at their disposal. No doubt an incoming administration will have ideas on how to change those levers, as well as their own ways of working. Many who were there remember the early months of New Labour’s first term as a time when cultures clashed and officials, advisers and politicians took a long time to properly understand each other.
After July, there may be similar tensions. Amid the mix of new ideas and old processes, a key endeavour for the official and political parts of government will be to work out what’s worth keeping and what’s worth changing; what’s a good idea and what needs to be robustly challenged.
How to decide? Again, go back to basics. Rather than defaulting to established processes, the values of the civil service and the foundations of good government in the purest sense of serving and protecting the public should be the guide for navigating a season of much-anticipated change.
Read the summer issue of CSW here