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...

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