At the time of writing, Liz Truss has been Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for about twenty minutes. So we thought it was high time we wrote to her to lay some cards on the table and try to help her get a good start on the massive pile of issues already in her in-tray.

Dear Ms Truss,

Firstly, congratulations on your appointment to the highest political office in the country, we have no doubt you’ll treat it with the respect, seriousness and dignity it deserves. We hope you didn’t get too soggy in Scotland- it looked like it was raining cats and dogs up there (and by the way, do give Larry a fuss for us when you get to Number 10 won’t you?). More seriously, as you’re no doubt aware, you have one hell of a to-do list. Frankly, the way things are piled up, if you can make your way past the front door of 10 Downing Street you’ll be making a good start.

We just wanted to send you a quick friendly note with a little helpful advice about how to approach the problems you are (and we hope you’d agree with this) facing. We know you’ll be getting a lot of these, so we’ll try and keep it short and sweet.

First, we want to be honest. You’re not coming into office looking that strong. Politically speaking, we mean. We’re sure that personally you could wrestle a bear (which could be useful at this point…), but you inherit a party that is riven with division, and there are a lot of other ‘personalities’ on the backbenches who might prove troublesome. Now we know you have a reputation of being a little ideological, but now could be the time to change that- try opening a conversation across the party to work out common positions- I know it feels odd going to those who are likely to cause you trouble, but it really will help you in the long-term.

Within the party though is not the only place where you need to open and expand those dialogues. Let’s face it, you come into office at a difficult time. The country is facing down a major economic crisis, Brexit is still causing issues, and the old way of working just… well… doesn’t seem to be working any more. You’re going to have to come up with solutions, fast. Now we’re sure you’ve got lots of ideas yourself- you’ve been talking about them with your Conservative colleagues for the last six weeks, and that’s great!  Always good to have them in stock, but before you start trying to put them into play, it might be worth talking to other people about them too. We know you think they’re great, and we know that people like you think they’re great, but if you don’t talk to people who aren’t like you too, then they may well turn out not to work as well as you think.

This is why you’ll be pushed hard by civil servants to consult on them before they’re implemented. I know, I know, it’s all about delivering, and delivering quickly, but it’s a very important part of the legislative process. Not doing so might run the risk of expensive and politically damaging legal challenges, media criticism and public unhappiness. But it shouldn’t just be done as a tick-box. If you’re going to do it, you should listen to it. We’ve seen quite a lot of consultations from your ministerial colleagues recently that have not met the standards we would expect. We hope that you will display your strength of character, take this in hand and ensure that it is both being done properly and being appropriately heeded in the policy making process.

In times of crisis, new ideas are needed more than ever, and it might be you want to consider a less formal approach to gathering them as well- so why not lean into more general engagement? As people who hold your new office are so fond of saying, the British public are great! They’re beautiful little engines of ideas and thinking- so why not go out to them and discuss their solutions? The Conservative Party has been talking a lot about levelling-up, and focussing on communities, so use those communities- find out what they need, listen to them, and let’s have some of that community empowerment we’ve heard so much about!

I suppose what we’re trying to say is that you’re going to need the public on side, and at the moment, it’s erm… let’s just say there’s work to do. People really do appreciate being listened to, and you do have options. Even if people are critical of your ideas, if they really are good ones, you should be able to defend them. If you can’t defend them openly, then maybe they need a rethink, and you might gather ways of doing that rethink over the course of the dialogue. Don’t fear public scrutiny and engagement.

You’ll inevitably be doing a lot of consultation and engagement over the next few months as you try and chart your way through the stormy seas, and we’d certainly tell you that you’ll get out of consultation and engagement what you put into it. Don’t treat consultation and engagement as the enemy- it could be the greatest ally you have if you do it properly.

All the best,

The Consultation Institute

P.S. If you want a hand with any of this, you know where we are.

P.P.S. Just by the Railway Station

P.P.P.S. We offer very reasonable rated for Prime Ministers.