Ending short-termism: the post-Brexit challenge

Tony Lodge | 3rd January 2021 | Uncategorised
Post-Brexit, Short-termism
Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

Thirty years of short-termism has left the transport and energy sectors in a stagnating mess, says Tony Lodge, but with Brexit done, there is a chance for some real change

Oscar Wilde once said that consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.  Where this might apply to some people we know or places we visit, this aphorism should not be applied to British policymaking now that we have an EU trade deal – indeed a deal that has passed the ‘acid test’ of the legal Star Chamber of the ERG group. Brexit craves and needs a period of clear, consistent, long-term and radical policy delivery. Short-termism across Westminster and Whitehall has blighted British policymaking for a generation, and the implications of this failure are increasingly clear to see.  Some of the blame can be placed on individuals, some of the blame on institutions, some on the erratic culture of groupthink and some on the calibre and skills at the top.  The critical point is that British policymaking and long-term delivery have lost their way and with it the case for attracting strategic investment, the best people and wider confidence in UK plc.  COVID has further exposed this rea...

Subscribe to The Mace

Join the member community shaping British politics and stay ahead of what's really happening in the world of politics and public affairs, with expert analysis, breaking news, and insider insights from Westminster and Brussels. The Mace is the leading news source and resource for the government affairs industry, offering required reading and lobby intelligence for professionals.

To see what you are missing out on by not subscribing to The Mace, click here to download our full membership info-pack. This includes having no paywall on op-ed content or profiles/interviews, allowing professional profiles to be read with maximum impact and visibility by government, special advisers, MPs, peers, civil servants, and policy and political decision-makers.



The Third Pole of Power 

Antonios Nestoras | July 8, 2021

It’s been a long time coming, and now it’s official. Dubbed as a new Cold War, the US-China confrontation in the Pacific has now cut across the Atlantic

It’s Disingenuous for the Government to Celebrate Windrush Day

Helen Hayes MP | July 7, 2021

Helen Hayes MP flags the Government’s ongoing failures - which continue to devastate the lives of those affected by the Windrush Scandal.

The UK has a Duty to Hongkongers

Tom Randall MP | June 30, 2021

After mounting evidence of China breaking the Sino-British Joint Declaration, Tom Randall MP argues that due to the UK’s recent colonial history with Hong Kong, the Foreign Office

The History Curriculum Needs Diversifying

Chris Evans MP | June 29, 2021

Within 48 hours, 100,000 people signed Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson’s petition calling for the Government to teach Britain’s colonial past as part of the UK’s compulsory curriculum. Launched in June

Europe Must Rethink the Digital Services Act

Mikołaj Barczentewicz | June 29, 2021

The European Commission claims that the Digital Services Act (DSA) will deliver much-needed harmonisation and clarity of regulation. In fact, it introduces new risks and costs on businesses

Biden, Putin, and the Danger of Shaking Hands

Robert Tyler | June 25, 2021

At the Geneva Summit, the American President ignored warnings not to shake his Russian counterpart’s hand. In doing so, he reflected a wider trend in which the West

The Case for Vitamin D Prescriptions

Jim Shannon MP | June 24, 2021

Jim Shannon draws on medical research to argue that vitamin D prescriptions are a crucial component to living in a post-lockdown Covid world.

The misty meaning of the G7 tax agreement

Carlo Stagnaro | June 18, 2021

The G7 agreement on the minimum tax of 15 percent is a small step, but it is not yet clear in which direction.

Isolating Morocco would be a historic blunder for the EU

Robert Tyler | June 15, 2021

Why the EU needs a change of policy approach to avoid Morocco becoming another uncooperative player in the region, which could be just as devastating as when the

Zoom and the equalisation of ideas

Robert Tyler | June 14, 2021

How politicians and videoconferencing have made the world smaller