Keir Starmer
was last night accused of smothering Britain in red tape after it
emerged Labour has set up a new quango every week since taking power.
The Prime Minister pledged ‘urgent’ action to transform the country after his landslide election victory in July.
But analysis of the Government’s record
reveals it has created a staggering 25 new quangos and so-called
taskforces and advisory councils in its first six months in office –
equal to an average of one a week.
This will add to fears that Labour is more
interested in reforming the structures of government than in driving
real change in society.
And it follows revelations last month that
the Government ordered 67 reviews and consultations in its first five
months, leading to accusations Sir Keir is facing ‘paralysis by
analysis’.
Former Tory
chairman Richard Holden warned the push to create more quango risked
stifling the economy and denting Labour’s hopes of kickstarting growth.
‘It’s a tale as old as time,’ he said.
‘Labour establishes a quango to duplicate work already under way in the
public sector and the outcome is all-too predictable: more bureaucracy,
more regulation and higher taxes for working Brits.’
Former Tory business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg accused Labour of using quangos to make it harder for the public to hold ministers to account
‘We need a great cull of quangos,’ he
said. ‘In government I was trying to close them down because we need to
return decision-making to elected ministers.
‘Instead, Labour seem bent on giving us
government by the quango, for the quango… They want government done by
their friends and they want it done away from prying eyes by
organisations that are simply not accountable in the same way as elected
ministers. It is not only anti-democratic but it also leads to worse
government.’
Ed Miliband has created four new bodies to help push through his controversial plan to decarbonise Britain’s electricity system by 2030.
The first, Great British Energy, was
announced the day after the election, and was billed as a state-owned
energy company, although it remains unclear whether it will ever produce
electricity.
Four days later, Mr Miliband announced the
creation of Mission Control, a new advisory body which he said would
help him devise and deliver the Government’s Clean Power 2030 Action
Plan.
In September, the Energy Secretary
announced the creation of a new National Energy System Operator to help
‘accelerate Great Britain’s energy transition’.
Last month, the supposedly ‘independent’
body produced a report saying Mr Miliband’s target is ‘feasible’,
despite widespread industry scepticism over its potentially enormous
costs.
Then, in October, Mr Miliband set up the Solar Taskforce, which will examine issues such as whether to make solar panels compulsory on all new homes....<<<Read More>>>...