When leadership and politics collide!

Lots of interesting examples this week about leadership and its relationship with politics. Working as a senior manager in close proximity with the politics in Leicester City Council and other councils taught me how important it is to build trust in the shared space between the two. I knew my role was to advise, provide options and support the process of shaping a policy and coming to decisions whilst the role of the councillor was to make those decisions and take responsibility for them. The best policy and the best decisions always came from this iterative process where both parties respected each other and trusted each other. When this process broke down or the trust was broken the end result was nearly always poor policy or poor decisions or chaos.

Of course as an officer I always had to accept that on some occasions despite evidence and clear risks some decisions just had to be a political one and any unhappiness on my part had to be put to one side whilst I got on and implemented it. It was always important to remember that for politicians at the end of the day all that really matters is ‘the vote’ because that’s what retains the power to take the decisions and they are usually far better than officers at coming to these political judgements.

This was a system that worked locally in councils but also underpinned national government and the relationship between the PM and Ministers and Civil Servants. It was how national policy was formed and decisions made, a system that has served us well for years. But there are always tensions to be managed. We often hear councillors say officers control the council and they prevent us from doing what we want to do and nationally we keep hearing about the ‘blob’ used by some to describe the civil service as the blocker on what the government wants to do.

So this week I started watching the first two parts of Laura Kuenessberg programme State of Chaos. The programme tracks the trials and tribulations of the Conservative Government from the Brexit vote up to the current time with part two last Monday covering the Johnson rein. The programme is both revealing and frightening and does not show the behaviour of the key players in a good light. It is clear that our political leaders and their advisors deliberately set out to break the existing policy and decision making system by weakening the power of the civil service and strengthening the power of politicians. Their frustrations with long standing rules and protocols finally cracked to such a degree that they just ignored them and when challenged either lied or agreed rules had been broken and moved on. Chaos emerged which then undermined how Brexit, the pandemic and the withdrawal from Afghanistan were all dealt with.

Now I get the political frustrations which leads to the system being blamed for the lack of progress or the speed at which change happens but our democracy works because of the inbuilt checks and balances in the process that ensures political will prevails but the best decisions can be made. But I have no doubt that the system that protects can also prevent or delay change and many have said it needs to be improved and modernised but setting fire to it was clearly not a good idea. I look forward to the next episode and would strongly suggest you too watch it and learn from it.

I was just digesting all this when news came of a leak suggesting that the Prime Minister, someone who when appointed promised to end the chaos and bring back sound government was about to bin all the climate change targets. By the following afternoon a speedily arranged press conference confirmed the news bringing shock in some quarters and applause in others. To me and others this looked like a pure political decision designed to win votes but this was vehemently denied by the PM and his supporters. A logical explanation was attempted but failed to gain much traction. Why not be honest and say I think it’s a vote catcher?

To me it clearly looked like a panic policy shift that had been forged in dark places that went in the face of all the evidence, current learning and due process. “This should have been announced in parliament” screamed the speaker in anger. The decision carries huge risk and consequences that could lead to a major failure in our commitment to reducing global warming which will hurt people particularly the most vulnerable. It has already undermined our international standing and I fear it may undermined the integrity of the prime minister himself and damage his ongoing legitimacy to lead. I doubt very much if this decision went through normal policy making processes. I suspect civil servants played no part in its development and set alongside the Kuenessberg programme I was left wondering if we were again back in a state of chaos.

I concluded quickly that yes we are still in a very chaotic state both nationally and locally and as a result I fear the sport and activity sector is going to suffer greatly as a result. The new government sport and activity strategy has sunk without trace offering no more than warm words, worn out policies, no new resources but increased top down performance targets and accountability that will put even more pressure on an already fragile sector. I’m sensing already that this political pressure may force more panic decisions in both Sport England and UKSport.

Locally the recent announcements in Birmingham have also sent more shock waves through Local Government and the sector. The council is in effect bankrupt, unable to fund its debts and liabilities. The government has appointed independent commissioners to run the council taking responsibility away from local councillors until the council has been put back on a stable financial footing. That will undoubtedly mean major cuts in non statutory expenditure and that puts sport, leisure and culture in the spotlight. Birmingham and seven other councils have issued a formal section 114 notice and about 26 others could be close to the same position. The wider situation remains uncertain because up to a third of councils have not had a formal audit for two years following the closure of the Audit Commission which means their financial standing is not independently verified. Ten years of austerity will explain much of this position but different councils may also have contributed to their problems because of decisions made by councillors with or without the advice of officers. These problems and their solution inevitably lie at the interface between leadership and politics and will require strong, trusting relationships and firm governance to restore them to stability but not without huge damage to communities and individuals and yet more chaos.

So in a week when as a sector we have called on government and councils “not to put a cap on swimming” and used national fitness week to continue to demonstrate we are “pivoting to health and wellbeing” and should be resourced better both national and local government appear to be in or fast approaching a permanent state of chaos as leadership and politics continue to collide to the detriment of us all. Until this chaos ends I fear the sector will continue to be mere pawns in a bigger game or even collateral damage from processes we have no ability to influence let alone control. Do I have a solution, sorry I don’t, but I do know that we need to raise our heads and start to focus on the bigger picture.

Martyn Allison 22nd Sept 2023.