Michael Gove warns Labour will struggle to implement 'change' agenda unless ministers claw back control from civil servants and quangos
Michael Gove has issued a warning that Labour will struggle to implement its 'change' agenda unless ministers claw back power from civil servants and quangos.
The Tory former Cabinet stalwart has backed a think-tank report criticising the way control has been handed to agencies, experts and arms-length bodies.
The Policy Exchange analysis points out that the size of the senior civil service has expanded by two-thirds since 2012 while the length of service of top ministers has decreased.
The report, entitled 'Getting a Grip on the System: Restoring Ministerial Authority over the Machine' is co-authored by Stephen Webb, a former senior civil servant and former Tory and Labour special advisers Iain Mansfield and Paul Richards.
In a series of recommendations aimed at the new Labour Government, the report called for enhanced power for ministers to influence public and senior civil service appointments.
Michael Gove has issued a warning that Labour will struggle to implement its 'change' agenda unless ministers claw back power from civil servants and quangos
The Policy Exchange analysis points out that the size of the senior civil service has expanded by two-thirds since 2012 while the length of service of top ministers has decreased
It also argued for a clarification of the civil service code to ensure civil servants do not block work on ministerial priorities.
A smaller civil service with better training and high salaries was also recommended, as was a greater role for a larger number of ministerial advisers.
Mr Gove and Jim Murphy, the former Scottish Labour leader, have both written forewords for the report, supporting its recommendations.
Mr Gove welcomed the 'philosophy underlying the report', adding: 'It represents an unfashionable commitment to politics as a calling, recognising that only through politics can difficult choices and trade-offs be made.
'Most of all, it pushes back hard on the pretensions of those who believe whole areas of public life and decision-making impacting the population should be fenced off and left in the hands of technocrats beyond any political accountability.'
He suggested there was 'fellow feeling between politicians of all parties about the challenges they have faced delivering their political priorities once in office'.
Mr Murphy said: 'A democratically-elected government, with a clear mandate, has the responsibility to govern.
'Ministers must be able, in the short time they have, to make a difference. Given the scale of the nation's challenges, we cannot have mere incrementalists in Whitehall, but reformers and radicals.'
Keir Starmer has insisted he is pursuing a 'change' agenda after winning an election landslide
