Counter-intuitively, General Election campaigns are not the best environments for addressing serious matters of statecraft – our political leaders are too busy trying to keep Ming vases aloft and avoiding ‘gotcha' moments.
Yet one concept has broken through: ‘mission-driven' government. It's one we will be hearing more of if, as polls suggest, Labour forms the next Government.
We first heard of ‘missions' in the current Government's Levelling Up White Paper, which outlined 12 of them. They were each framed closely to the metric that would measure their progress, such as primary school achievement rates rising.
The Labour Party's definition is more expansive – with five core missions each relating to a cross-cutting, long-term outcome: growth, clean energy, street safety, opportunity and the NHS. Reports suggest they could be accompanied by a shake-up at Whitehall where new mission boards would corral cross-departmental working and break down silos, overseen directly by the Prime Minister.
This focus on the how, not just the what, of governing is significant – especially in the context of our uniquely centralised state.
Three elements will be important for mission-driven government to make an impact. First, cross-departmental coordination must be underpinned by clear accountability and funding flows which mirror objectives. Otherwise, a new layer will coexist with others working business as usual, risking more complexity.
Second, how missions interface with local governments and public services in places is crucial. Will they just boil down to a series of service-based performance targets, or will they create space for partners to collaborate in new ways around shared goals?
Third, just as important as new structures will be a shift in governing mindset. This would recognise the limits of micro-managing the country from Whitehall, and the value of mobilising communities and places around core missions, so they all achieve their full potential.
Jessica Studdert is interim chief executive at New Local
X – @jesstud
