Tim Ambler, Senior Fellow of the Adam Smith Institute, has published a book on radical reforms for Whitehall. ‘Shrinking Whitehall’ undertakes a forensic analysis of Whitehall’s statistics, and outlines key areas for reform.

• The civil service has been long in need of a rigorous overhaul, with its tangled system hindering the efficiency of government.

• Ambler’s work provides a bold direction for policy makers on how to achieve this reform, offering well-researched recommendations that could lead to significant improvements in government performance.

• This provocative examination of our state seeks to widen the Overton window when it comes to what is thought to be possible.

The Rt Hon Jacob Rees-Mogg MP, former Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, said of the book:

“Every decade or so an effort is made to reform the public sector. Michael Heseltine had a rather successful go for both Margaret Thatcher and John Major, whilst Francis Maude did an excellent job for David Cameron. Yet like the Hydra slain by Hercules, every time the civil service is cut it seems to grow back even more. This makes Tim Ambler’s book timely and welcome.”

Director of Research of the Adam Smith Institute, Maxwell Marlow, commented:

“In this extensive work, Ambler outlines the brow-sweating inefficiencies of Whitehall and how to fix them. If Britain is to build back better from the pandemic and ensuing economic chaos, it is right that our civil servants are given the structure to ensure effective policy delivery.”

Shrinking Whitehall is available here at our Adam Smith Institute online store.

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NOTES:

• The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect any views held by the publisher or copyright owner. They are published as a contribution to public debate.

• Tim Ambler is Senior Fellow at the Adam Smith Institute. 

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