I had the pleasure of chairing the Editorial Intelligence/Policy Exchange/Policy Review/Cass Busines School (Phewee!) debate on the future of the quangocracy last night. I was expecting little common ground between Douglas Carswell, the Tory hammer of the quangos and an audience I thought would be packed with his ideological enemies. But it wasn’t like that at all.
Carswell was a very entertaining turn, describing the House of Commons as “monumentally spineless and useless”. His view was that select committees should be given the job of holding quangos to account, including making them justify their budgets on an annual basis. This, he said, would at least give give MPs something worthwhile to do and maybe shake them out of their “self-seeking indolence”.
Neil O’Brien, the Director of Policy Exchange made a coherent argument for reform (and put the boot in to the Potato Council) and must be a candidate for a future Tory front bench if he ever chooses to stand as a candidate.
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