Politicians have given away too much power to deliver pledges, says PM's ex-aide

Politicians have given away too much power to lawyers, activists, and regulators, and they are unable to keep their commitments, according to an ex-aide to the prime minister. Paul Ovenden, who resigned as Keir Starmer's director of political strategy last September after offensive messages he sent in 2017 emerged, wrote in The Times, saying that the British state has grown

bigger and larger while simultaneously and systematically emasculating itself.

The case of British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El Fattah

revealed the sheer strangeness of how Whitehall spends its time,

he continued With a stiffening resolve in mind, he told the BBC, politicians could take back power of democracy's levers.

Mr Ovenden said on Radio 4's Today show that he thinks Sir Keir was exactly the right one to make changes, and that if he does feel those aches very acutely.In order to combat the electoral challenge posed by Reform UK, Chris Powell, who served on four Labour general elections and the brother of Prime Minister Jonathan Powell, has stated that the Labour government needs a fundamental rewrite.People are fed up, believe nothing works," he wrote in The Guardian, and some are just angry and feel ignored. Their remarks came at the start of a potentially difficult year for the prime minister, which includes local elections in May and the possibility of a leadership challenge from those in the Labour Party dissatisfied with his result so far.

After being found of spreading fake news about torture in the region, Mr Abd El Fattah was held in an Egyptian prison for more than a decade. He was released in September after lobbying by successive British governments and arrived in the United Kingdom last week. His arrival was initially welcomed by Prime Minister David Cameron who said he was delighted and that his case had been

a top priority for my government. However, Sir Keir was chastised when social media posts in which Mr Abd El Fattah called for the assassination of Zionists and police officers. Sir Keir said he was unaware of the

absolutely abhorrent

posts, which Mr Abd El Fattah has since regretted for, and that the government was investigating the

information gaps in this case.

Mr Ovenden weighed in on the case, telling Radio 4's Today program,

We'd be having long meetings on the government's priorities, and if any other company would force this gentleman into discussions.

Most of us on the political side of the government weren't aware of it, and we weren''t that concerned about it day after day.

It actually became a running joke within government that people would always find a way to bring it back to this discussion.

The lawsuit was

kind of totemic of the distraction of problems that seemed to be a different part of government were captivated by. When asked why politicians could not avoid these topics, Mr Ovenden said they had

effectively given away power.

What they're really trying to do is give away risk, but they've given over control to arm's length bodies, to protesters, to attorneys, to a regulatory framework, to well-networked organizations. Who are able to effectively stop the government's machinery from functioning properly?

He gave examples of topics that he found to be distractions, including payingcolonial reparationsorbanning vaping in pub gardens. He said it was no surprise that the public is fed up with politicians' ability to get things done,but thatwe can change this and change quickly. Through judicial investigation, he suggested that the government should start stripping some of the government's legislative obligations, such as environmental safeguards for building, and the ability to file litigation against government policy.

His remarks echoed a position that had previously been expressed by some in government, including the prime minister. Sir Keir replied positively when asked by the parliamentary Liaison Committee what he had found most difficult in government before Christmas:

Speed and ability to get things done in Parliament.

We have so many checks and balances, audits, guidelines, and arm's length bodies that we have to deal with.

My own sense, after 12 to 18 months in office, has been a source of political skepticism, is that every time something has gone wrong in the past, successive governments have introduced yet another procedure, another body, or another consultation to try to avoid us ever making a mistake again.

My experience as Prime Minister has been of disappointment that every time I try to pull a lever, a slew of laws, studies, and arm's length bodies exist, which means the transition from pulling the lever to delivery takes longer than I think it should be.