Workers’ missions are at risk of failure, as the government is over, as the era of “orders and management” is over, unless the government does more to involve the country more from businesses to the wider general, demonstration reports warn.
Thinktank called on the government to embrace “mass mobilization” for businesses, charities, unions and the more public, and promote a flagship mission that promises growth, clean energy, reduced crime, restructuring the NHS and reforming education.
Keir Starmer talks about making it work for people to “form a nation,” but Whitehall has different views on how best to accomplish his mission. Some “reformers” know how to bestow their communities and more change, but others prefer Blairite’s “command and control” approach to maintaining power from the central government.
The Demos report warns that the central government does not want to deliver its mission on its own, arguing that command and control models do not work in driving reform, and that the central government must learn better how to let go of power.
When it announced the NHS shakeup, Wes Streeting returned more power to the Ministry of Health and Social Care by abolishing NHS England, but committed to leaving more to the frontline organisations responsible for providing health care.
Prime Minister Rachel Reeves said on Sunday that he is cutting office costs by 15% to fund more frontline services.
However, the demonstrations said there is a need for more involvement from the public, business and civil society. It suggested that they would be more directly involved in how they accomplish the mission, and how they would encourage more active citizenship through volunteering.
It also recommended that external “Mission Councils” be created attached to specific specific missions in achieving government goals to encourage collective action in all sectors and civil society.
Polly Curtis, CEO of the demonstration, said: “The mission has promised a new way of governing clear priorities through partnerships between states, businesses and society. As governments seek to achieve their mission through a structure of command and management, the fundamental approach is to place partnerships at the heart of government and build new ways for the nation to move together.”
10 has already created a new “partnership unit” aimed at promoting more collaboration with the wider society.
But the report, supported by outsourcing company Serco and the national council of voluntary organizations, said there is still a risk that Whitehall will be too inwardly turned.
“There are structural and institutional barriers to mass mobilization around the mission,” he said. “There is a risk that people in Westminster and Whitehall are spending too much time focusing on internal change and government legislative programs. These changes are necessary, but the government is worried that they may miss the opportunity to mobilize all stakeholders across the country around the shared country’s mission.”
Cabinet Office has been requested for comment.
