Analysis

Officials must fulfil their duty to challenge poor policies

To really transform public services, leaders must be braver, argues Alasdair Ramage.

Conference season is upon us, and this year all three really matter. With the Liberal Democrats in government, Nick Clegg’s defence of the coalition was occupying the news media last Monday – until a report on public sector salaries suddenly rose up the bulletins and spread through the news websites. Launched ahead of a BBC Panorama programme on the topic, the report won lavish coverage across the right-leaning press.