Report

Power Failure: A new theory of power

This report from UK think tank the Future Governance Forum rethinks how power operates in the British state.

British politics feels stuck. In recent years, both Conservative and Labour governments have found themselves increasingly hamstrung by a web of problematic concentrations and dispersals of power, thwarting their attempts to make people’s lives better. Left feeling disempowered, an alarmingly high proportion of people believe that politicians are either corrupt or useless, that real power is hidden and that everything is a scam. Extreme voices – promising simple, all-or-nothing solutions – have scarcely had greater appeal.

In such a febrile context, the challenge for this government is to be bold enough to discard outdated ideas that impede state delivery, and to shift power decisively in favour of the British people – rendering more extreme solutions unnecessary.

Written by FGF Policy Associate Phil Tinline, Power Failure: A new theory of power rethinks how power operates in the British state: where it lies, how this undermines effective government, and what needs to change to make it work for the public.

Drawing from over 50 interviews, including with those who have served at the heart of government, the report puts forward an alternative theory of power which can form the basis of a more focused and effective governing programme.

This is a precious, once-in-a-generation opportunity to shift power in ways that improves working people’s lives. Failing to seize it risks opening the door to those who see the modern state as their enemy, and seek to destroy it.