Show 393. Dr Michelle Clement

·51 min·4 clips

Michelle Clement explains what it's like to be the Researcher-in-Residence at Number 10 Downing Street.

This episode features host Matt Forde interviewing Dr. Michelle Clement, a lecturer on government reform and a researcher-in-residence at 10 Downing Street, about her new book on Tony Blair's delivery unit. Clement's expertise stems from her unique access and a decade of research, including analyzing the handwritten diaries of Sir Michael Barber, who led the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit from 2001. The discussion centers on how Blair's government operationalized its domestic reform agenda after the 2001 election. A key topic is the genesis of the Delivery Unit, conceived before the election by figures like Jeremy Heywood to bolster Number 10's ability to implement policy. The unit focused on specific targets in health, education, transport, crime, and asylum, improving metrics like NHS waiting times and train punctuality. Clement details how Barber, a Quaker with conflict resolution training, navigated the intense Blair-Brown rivalry and pressure from figures like Ed Balls. The diaries reveal the unit's evolution, showing it was later used by the Treasury for spending reviews and by ministers for "priority reviews" of failing hospitals. Beyond specific policies, the unit aimed to shift civil service culture toward valuing delivery, with senior officials gradually accepting it as part of their role. A surprising insight is that Barber's 600,000-word diaries were entirely handwritten, capturing the "messiness" of governing amid events like 9/11 and the Iraq war. Clement argues Blair is not widely recognized for public service reform, and her book explores the "art" of the human relationships behind the "science" of delivery. She notes that current Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government is directly drawing on this era's lessons, having consulted Barber and created its own mission delivery unit. Clement suggests Starmer entered office with the ambitious, delivery-focused mindset Blair developed by his second term, potentially putting him ahead of where Blair was in 1997. A memorable anecdote involves Clement's students meeting David Cameron in Downing Street and bluntly asking if he really liked Nick Clegg. The tone is conversational and educational, with Forde as an engaged fan of political history and Clement as an accessible academic sharing insider stories. The style is interview-based, blending historical analysis with contemporary political parallels and personal anecdotes from Clement's access to Downing Street. Listeners interested in the mechanics of power, British political history, and the challenges of implementing government policy will find this episode fascinating. Those seeking current political debate or coverage of today's headlines might find it too focused on historical structures and past administrations.

As heard by us

A clear conversation about delivery, trust, and the machinery of government.

Dr Michelle Clement's book discussion treats delivery as a question of how government actually gets things done. Matt Forde gives her room to explain how Michael Barber was brought in, how he was not part of the inner circle, and how his quietly spoken, plain-speaking style and…

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You want the inside story of how the Blair government tried to transform Britain.

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