Former cabinet secretaries, politicians and economists have shared their thoughts on how to reform the state in a new essay collection issued to mark the rebrand of one of the UK’s best-known public service reform think tanks.
Reform has today changed its name to Re:State in a move it says will “end the confusion” created when Nigel Farage rebranded the Brexit Party as Reform UK.
Charlotte Pickles, Re:State’s director, said Farage’s decision “created a problem” for the think tank and “confusion for the public”, who have written in to the think tank, offering to stand in elections, wanting to become members, following up donations, and asking questions, all intended for the political party.
“This means, after much thought and broad discussion, that we have taken the decision to change our name,” Pickles said.
Pickles added that the new name "reflects our legacy, builds on our momentum, and looks ahead to our vision of the State remade".
The essay collection to mark the think tank's rebrand, titled Bold ideas to remake the State, sees 19 leading public figures make the case for radical reform, including former cab sec and head of the civil service Mark Sedwill and ex-Cabinet Office ministers Michael Gove and Francis Maude.
Lord Sedwill’s essay, Remaking the State for the 21st century, calls for a “more agile, inclusive, data-driven, and citizen-focused” state, and a “new approach to leadership, organisation, and delivery across government”. Sedwill, who was cab sec from 2018 to 2020, says "there is no shortage of ideas" and that it is "sustained political will, coherent leadership and a clear strategy" that have been missing.
Lord Gove, who is now the editor of The Spectator, urges the government to “embrace the rewards of radicalism”, adding that "one of the best civil servants I ever worked with consistently advised me – if you’re going to be a bear, be a grizzly".
Lord Maude’s essay reiterates his desired reforms to the centre of government, as recommended in his his 2023 review of civil service governance and accountability. He also offers some words of encouragement for the current Labour government, which he says has “come to a realisation of the need for serious change much quicker than many expected, and this creates a real opportunity to drive through agreed changes”.
An essay from former Government Digital Service founder Mike Bracken, meanwhile, calls for “a new era of system leadership” in his piece, arguing “departmentalism, the bindweed of modernity, is not the cause but the symptom of a lack of system thinking and situational awareness”.
Former West Midlands mayor Sir Andy Street’s essay raises the need to “remove the dead hand of Whitehall” to enable devolved regions to “flourish”.
Focusing on health, new NHS England chair Dr Penny Dash, who was appointed to the role less than two weeks before the announcement that the body would be merged into the Department of Health and Social Care, uses her essay to call for an “honest conversation” about the need for – and resistance to – change in the healthcare system.
IFS director Paul Johnson, meanwhile, urges “brutal focus to deliver a new paradigm” in his thinkpiece, and says only two strategies are ”big enough to make a difference today: "take the growth bull by the horns and institute real devolution of power”.