When you have a system where ministers almost never understand their portfolios, civil servants change jobs every few months, and MPs don’t grasp parliamentary procedure even after decades in office — is the problem the people, or the structure they work in?
Political journalist Ian Dunt studies the systemic reasons governments succeed and fail. And in his book How Westminster Works …and Why It Doesn’t, he argues that Britain’s government dysfunction and multi-decade failure to solve its key problems stems primarily from bad incentives and bad processes.
These highlights are from episode #216 of The 80,000 Hours Podcast: Ian Dunt on why governments in Britain and elsewhere can’t get anything done – and how to fix it, and include:
- Rob's intro (00:00:00)
- The UK is governed from a tiny cramped house (00:00:08)
- Replacing political distractions with departmental organisation (00:02:58)
- The profoundly dangerous development of "delegated legislation" (00:06:42)
- Do more independent-minded legislatures actually lead to better outcomes? (00:09:08)
- MPs waste much of their time helping constituents with random complaints (00:12:50)
- How to keep expert civil servants (00:15:44)
- Unlikely heroes in the House of Lords (00:18:33)
- Proportional representation and other alternatives to first-past-the-post (00:22:02)
These aren't necessarily the most important or even most entertaining parts of the interview — so if you enjoy this, we strongly recommend checking out the full episode!
And if you're finding these highlights episodes valuable, please let us know by emailing podcast@80000hours.org.
Highlights put together by Ben Cordell, Milo McGuire, and Dominic Armstrong
