Mr. Swift cautiously salutes the PM's change of tone on big government
When Swift was a child, there was a book much talked of, and sometimes even read. It was called the Bible. It has no doubt been removed from the school shelves now as it contains triggering elements: war, death, murder, sexual assault, serious medical conditions (Egypt seemed particularly at risk here) and so forth.
However one passage sticks in Swift’s mind from those long ago days:
‘I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.’ (Luke 15:7).
It would be incorrect to claim that Sir Keir Starmer has actually joined the Popular Conservatism movement as such. However, Swift would not be surprised if he were to be caught sniffing around our website, even our blog, because he seems to have seen the light.
Later today he will apparently be making a major speech (politicians never make minor speeches do they?) announcing an allegedly drastic war on quangos (or arm’s length bodies if you prefer), reducing their numbers, taking functions back into government departments – hence increasing ministerial accountability – and cutting civil service numbers.
Swift has previously expressed scepticism about the likely success of the last idea (https://www.popularconservatism.com/uncivil_service), but as the Bible states, repenting sinners are really rather welcome to get on board the PopCon battle bus.
It is even alleged that Starmer’s aides refer to this initiative as ‘Project Chainsaw’, which gets Keir into an unlikely conga with Javier Milei – whose metaphor this was in the first place - and Elon Musk. The chainsaw gang. Let us, dear readers, not pursue this image.
We must take a charitable view, however cynical we might be about the reality of taking a chainsaw to the British government machine. Quangos have been put on plenty of bonfires in the past, only to rise again like the Phoenix of legend. Labour has actually created dozens of quangos since entering office, including such complete waste of spaces like GB Energy and the football regulator. And both ministers and civil servants have a strong incentive to hang on to ‘their’ quangos. Accountability is a nice word, but it can be a dashed nuisance for an ambitious politician.
However. In a sense it does not matter whether Starmer actually does much, if any of this. in fact, Swift expects some token gestures before the machine rights itself and glides on.
What does matter is that Sir K is setting things up nicely for a future non-Labour government. He has given permission for a real attack on unaccountable state power and the ludicrous number of officials in the civil service. Labour cannot object
He has, in short, whether he knows it or not, given his blessing to Popular Conservatism. Thank you, Prime Minister.