Imagine this afternoon, as the candidates offer themselves for the leadership of the Tory Party – that you could be given five minutes personally to convince them…

Jonathan Bradley, Fellow of The Consultation Institute, and Rhion Jones, have been discussing the opportunity…

 

Rhion: Everyone seems to be complaining about the collapse of trust in Government and in politicians, but it does not seem to me to be a problem that’s arisen just in the last few weeks, or even years. Boris may have been the last straw, but public disenchantment has been evident for years. We have just entertained an old friend for lunch, only to hear that he now believes they are all ‘corrupt’ – a sad day for democracy, isn’t it?

Jonathan : It’s also very dangerous. We have the rise of the far right in mature democracies and people feel very remote from the people in power. If we are not careful this really could undermine the whole concept of the consent of the governed. Trust, or the lack of it, is a massive problem. It’s incredible to think that 76% of the public in England don’t trust MPs to take decisions that will improve their lives, while 73% don’t trust the UK Government on the same measure.  Add to this the perceived absence of proper debate throughout the Westminster architecture and the erosion of the public sphere by technology giants. Democracy as we know It In the UK is in need of a reboot! Hence, the despair of academics and serious professionals that ideology now matters more than proper debate and due process

Rhion: I suppose we could call it the erosion of checks and balances. For example, Downing Street’s knee-jerk reaction to the Owen Patterson case shows that, to save a friend, they wanted to jettison a well-proven Parliamentary process; then there was Boris disregarding his own Ethics adviser or trying to re-write the Ministerial Code. When the Government resignation-fest occurred we heard about Ministers being sent out to lie on behalf of the PM, though in cases they seemed most upset just about the speed with which the story they were given changed…  Surely a new Leader has to address these issues?

Jonathan: I always say to my youngest child, that it’s not saying sorry that matters as much as him being sorry and acting sorry.  If the government is serious about rebuilding trust in government in the UK, it has to do more than say sorry; it has to act sorry and be sorry. A big part of this will be about genuinely engaging the public in the work of government, executive priorities, difficult decisions and other cabinet responsibilities.

Rhion: That sounds rather wider than getting your story right… And communicating the truth…

Jonathan: One of the biggest problems we have is that people feel so far removed from the work of government, that the Westminster circus is alien to them and they feel they are not listened to. If they think that Ministers and Civil Servants are already committed and not open to persuasion, people switch off. If the next Prime Minister wants to increase public trust, he or she needs to bring about a culture change that focuses on better public engagement.

Rhion: But surely, every one of the aspiring contenders will profess to engage the public. All those who are Government Ministers have probably conducted public consultations and held dialogues with stakeholders. Are you suggesting something more?

Jonathan: They need to stop posturing and do it properly. It means making better public dialogue a priority for the new Prime minister. I’d even go so far as saying that they should create a new position: The Minister for Public Engagement. Someone who is answerable if the process is abused or mis-applied…

Rhion: I would prefer something different, with greater independence. Otherwise, there is still a temptation for less scrupulous Governments to rig the process in pursuit of the answer that Ministers want. In The Politics of Consultation, Elizabeth Gammell  and I argued for an Office of Public Engagement – a little like the OBR – the Office of Budget Responsibility. The aim there is to stop Ministers cheating on financial forecasts; we similarly need to stop them cheating on public consultations.

Jonathan: …and not just Central Government. Planning, Health and social care are all subject to change where we need to carry people with us. Climate change will oblige us to take difficult decisions and Councillors will make themselves thoroughly unpopular if they don’t choose the right ways to engage with local communities.

Rhion:  So, would it make a difference if there is a better lead from the very top of Government?

Jonathan: If we had a new Prime Minister taking office in September and overtly announcing that there would be better public consultation at all levels, I think it would send a powerful signal to officials and civil servants as well as to elected members. And it would  give many in society the confidence to raise their voices and improve standards of trust at both national and local levels. It’s not quantity we need, but quality, and I always liked the fact that the Consultation Institute was not arguing for consultation just for the sake of it. You once told me that we should have fewer consultations – but better.

Rhion: That’s back to the issue of trust once again. If people believe a consultation is absolutely genuine and taken seriously, then you can re-build that lost confidence. Unlike our recent example with Channel Four Privatisation. Many thought the consultation was badly biased, closing Ministers’ minds to alternative options, and straying close to being process abuse. That’s the case for regulation, I suppose.

Jonathan:  The good news is that in the UK, we are fortunate to have a corpus of professionals who are experts in citizen engagement. They need to be given the autonomy and authority to lead a charge for better standards and be able to hold people to account who wish to cut corners and undermine trust.

Rhion: And you’ve always argued, Jon, that technology can help with standards…

Jonathan:  It certainly can, a few years ago there was a fantastic Lords select committee, appointed to to consider democracy and digital technologies. Lots of people submitted evidence, including me, which the new Prime Minister and Government would do well to reconsider. I for one called for more to be done to encourage government to create safe places (online) for public deliberation.

Rhion: So maybe the good news is that we can continue to drive for better public engagement standards irrespective of who becomes Prime Minister.

Jonathan: But an honest, truthful Leader would help.

 

Rhion Jones is Founder Director of The Consultation Institute, and co-author of The art of Consultation (2008) and The Politics of Consultation (2018). He has written almost 500 articles and Briefing Papers on the subject and delivered over 400 training courses.

Jonathan Bradley is a Fellow of the Consultation Institute and Head of the Granicus Experience Group in the UK