Next Prime Minister must tackle Whitehall ‘blob’ to save the UK, report warns

• Policy Exchange says the new Government needs to shake up the civil service
• The think-tank says the new PM must overhaul the bloated Whitehall ‘blob’ 
• It calls for contracts to be awardee based on performance rather than fix-term 

The new prime minister must overhaul the bloated Whitehall ‘blob’ if they are to effectively tackle the plethora of crises facing the UK, a report has warned.

Leading think-tank Policy Exchange said the new Government will only cope with the cost of living crisis, a possible resurgence in Covid rates and the war in Ukraine if it is armed with a more strategic and dynamic civil service. 

In its report, Reform of Government – What do we want from our new prime minister?, the organisation highlights concerns about the current government ‘machine’.

Leading think-tank Policy Exchange said the new Government will only cope with the cost of living crisis, a possible resurgence in Covid rates and the war in Ukraine if it is armed with a more strategic and dynamic civil service

They include the huge number of people working for the civil service, which now totals around 480,000, and the urgent need for more specialists to help with policy. 

Amid a manifesto for change it has also said contracts should be awarded based on performance rather than on a fixed-term basis.

The report’s author Benjamin Barnard said that in order to re-energise the civil service, the next premier ‘must embrace the principle of a smaller and more strategic civil service that delivers services in a more efficient way’. 

This will be delivered by going ahead with plans to relocate 22,000 workers outside of London and streamline the workforce, the report says.

Both Tory leadership hopefuls have vowed to reform the civil service during their campaigns.

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