Those pushing for reform of the civil service have been heartened still further today by the number of interventions from politicians of other parties on the need for change. Yesterday they saw Tony Blair’s quotes in the Times about the problems with the service as a game-changer, and they are also pleased that former Labour ministers John Healey and Digby Jones have criticised the Whitehall machine.
So why is this a watershed moment? Whitehall sources feel these quotes from opposition politicians show that there is now a unique situation where all three parties are either in government or have recently left government. These fresh memories of dealing with the civil service now means there is a cross-party consensus that change is needed.
The problem is, as the Times anecdotes about civil servants presenting ministers with significantly watered-down versions of their plans for reform show, a political watershed moment won’t make life so much easier that the reforms glide their way through Whitehall.
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