We hurl abuse at here-today-gone-tomorrow politicians and their advisers, while the permanent state flourishes like a green bay tree.
Some projects that had previously been announced were included, as were some projects that had even been completed. Some of the announcements related to local projects for which the decision to proceed rested with regional mayors not central government.
The effect of the train strikes on attendance, the trauma of recent years, and the change in the nature of the Tory Conference itself leave the question hanging.
He may have less than a year, as Parliament returns and his Party’s conference looms, to persuade voters of his case – which he has scarcely even begun to make.
There are many things that can be done to resist the tide. The first would be for ministers to make the philosophical case for where state responsibility ends, and personal responsibility starts.
The A list and its successors haven’t kept a golden generation out of Parliament. Many of those who might have made it up aren’t putting themselves forward for selection in the first place.
The UK still a country prioritises freedom. But its citizens are far more deferential to the state than their American cousins – and the language of freedom is far less ideological and far more personal.
We kick off a ConservativeHome project on strong families, better schools and good jobs today – indispensable means of achieving a smaller state and a stronger society.
The key issue is the difference between EU codified law which prevents any action not permitted, and our common law, under which everything is permitted unless prohibited.
Our system of government is broken, and voters feel powerless. Only a radical overhaul of Whitehall can address these problems.
As Graham Stringer, a Labour MP, told GB News: “I find effectively civil servants sacking a minister, which is what has happened, quietly disturbing because one of the great myths in our political life is that we have a non-political civil service”.
I do not believe there are conspiracies by officials to stop this or any other Government from getting on with its business. But there are deep-seated problems in how government works. Here are three issues that need to be tackled.
Still less are civil servants paid to do so rather than getting on with the job – which taxpayers fund.
In his Parliament of Whores, PJ O’Rourke gave one section the stirring title “Our Government: What The F*** Do They Do All Day And Why Does It Cost So Goddamned Much Money?” But as my research confirmed in various ways, most voters do not see government primarily as an expensive nuisance.