Sir John Armitt’s report on taking infrastructure outside politics through the introduction of an infrastructure commission makes absolute sense. As well as creating a more visible pipeline, insulating infrastructure from the whims of politicians would stop such work ending up as a political football.
Because it seems so sensible, it is also why the idea will probably go no further. Politicians love infrastructure projects and the ability to say what goes where is a key part of the political process; it can win or lose votes. Hence I don’t see politicians giving up control of something so basic.
“Even at a local level, it’s infrastructure that drives political behaviour. It is not just about getting things built. As with Heathrow, it is as much about things not getting built.”
The stalemate around Heathrow’s third runway is as much about which MPs have seats nearby and their influence in the Cabinet, as about whether we need a bigger hub airport.
The fact that the Armitt report was commissioned by the Labour Party does not suggest that if Labour were in office it would give up its power over infrastructure either.
Even at a local level, it’s infrastructure that drives political behaviour. It is not just about getting things built. As we see with Heathrow, it is as much about things not getting built.
As for me, my head agrees with Armitt, delivery of infrastructure could work so much better; but my heart is not with him. Keeping such decision-making with the politicians is about democratic accountability and, to paraphrase Churchill, democracy is not great, but it is the best we’ve got.
With the EU having such direct control over our lives, it is important that our politicians have some responsibility even if they muck it up at times. The real irritation is the faux consultations. This just opens the door for one judicial review after another.
Twenty years ago, there were a handful of judicial reviews a year, now there are thousands. It has become an industry in its own right. Relatively mundane matters have judicial review time added to the programme as a matter of course. It is no wonder that projects cost so much and it is the taxpayer picking up the tab yet again.
I don’t know whether it is because we have made processes so difficult that public authorities find it hard to do things properly, or that nowadays people don’t feel that the way to deal with people who do things we don’t like is to vote them out of office. It is unrealistic to have a mini plebiscite on everything.
At the moment we have the worst of all worlds, the unelected of all shapes and sizes telling the elected what to do.
