Show 393. Dr Michelle Clement

The Political Party

News

4.8 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 26 May 2025

⏱️ 51 minutes

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Summary

Delivery.

It's a popular word in politics, but how to Prime Ministers ensure it happens?

Michelle is Researcher in Residence at 10 Downing Street and Lecturer in Government Studies at The Strand Group, King's College.

She has written a new book 'The Art of Delivery: The Inside Story of How the Blair Government Transformed Britain’s Public Services'.

This is a wonderful insight into the inner workings of 10 Downing Street and how Tony Blair changed his approach to the civil service during his premiership.

Michelle brings the internal machinations to life in this fascinating and entertaining interview.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you by The Economist.
0:03.6	The world is complex, but understanding it doesn't have to be.
0:07.5	The Economist connects the dots across politics, business, science and culture,
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0:28.3	so you can navigate with confidence.
0:30.9	Search the economist and make sense of the world around you.
0:34.2	Music the world around you.
0:48.1	Hello and welcome to the political party.
0:53.4	Today's guest is Dr. Michelle Clement, and she's got a new book out called The Art of Delivery,
0:57.2	the inside story of how the Blair government transformed Britain's public services.
0:59.8	And it sounds absolutely phenomenal.
1:06.9	So Michelle is a lecturer and researcher on government reform and delivery at the Strand Group, King's College.
1:10.1	She's also researcher in residence at 10 Downing Street.
1:26.9	And I ask her exactly what that involves, because she is an expert on the inner workings of number 10, and particularly, thanks to the diaries of Michael Barber, who headed up Tony Blair's delivery unit in number 10.
1:29.1	Obviously, delivery is a big conversation at the moment.
1:32.8	And we get into that about the need for a delivery unit in number 10,
1:34.8	why it came about and how it came about,
1:40.9	and how prime ministers can actually exert their will on the civil service and therefore deliver for the public.
	...

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