The former aide to the UK prime minister, Paul Ovenden, said politicians have handed too much power to lawyers, activists and regulators, making it harder for them to deliver on their promises.
The aide who previously worked as Sir Keir Starmer’s director of political strategy, said the British state has grown larger but weaker at the same time.
Speaking to the media he argued that politicians have given away control in order to avoid risk, but in doing so have lost the ability to act.
Ovenden said that with stronger determination, elected leaders could “take back control” of how government works.
He added that Keir Starmer understands these frustrations and is the right person to push through change.
He pointed to the case of British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El Fattah as an example of how government time can be taken up by issues that do not affect most people’s daily lives.
Recall that Abd El Fattah was jailed in Egypt for more than 10 years and released last year after pressure from the UK.
While his return was welcomed by the prime minister, criticism followed after past social media posts by the activist emerged. The government is now reviewing how the case was handled.
Ovenden said discussions about this case often distracted officials from what he saw as the government’s main priorities. He argued that politicians feel unable to ignore such issues because power has been handed to external bodies, courts and campaign groups that can block government action.
The former aide said the public is frustrated by how slow government decision-making has become. To fix this, he suggested reducing legal requirements, such as some environmental rules for building projects, and limiting the use of judicial reviews against government policies.
Similar concerns have been raised by Keir Starmer himself, who has said that too many rules, checks and organisations slow down government action. With local elections approaching and pressure growing inside the Labour Party, these issues are likely to remain a major challenge for the prime minister.
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