Quangos in Cameron's sights
Monday, 6 July 2009 5:00 PM
By politics.co.uk staff
David Cameron announced his determination to target quangos in a speech today, a damning assessment of the state of British politics.
There are 790 quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations controlling aspects of British public life at present - too many in the view of the Conservative leader.
"They determine what we can watch on TV and online," he said.
"They control what our children are taught in school. They tell us what medicines we can take, and what treatments we can receive.
"The growth in the number of quangos, and in the scope of their influence, raises important questions for our democracy and politics."
He told an audience at the Reform thinktank this lunchtime that some could have their responsibilities removed in a bid to save taxpayers' money.
"There's a lot of money to be saved but, more to the point, we need to make these more democratically accountable so people don't feel the rage and anger against the machine they have no control over," he told BBC1's Breakfast programme.
The Tories already have the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency in their sights. Ofcom, the media regulator, is also under consideration. It may have its policy-making role removed.
The speech formed part of Mr Cameron's 'people power' series.
Serious about politics?
Dedicate one year of your life to getting to the heart of current issues in global politics. Our courses allow you to specialise in development and policy-making, international relations, and political journalism and communications.
Newsletter sign up