Book review: Why Governments Get It Wrong And How They Can Get It Right by Dennis C. Grube
In this informative and engaging read, Cambridge professor Dennis C. Grube looks at why Government policy sometimes gets it completely wrong. It misses on one key point - Grube’s idealistic stance fails to acknowledge that sometimes political leaders don’t actually have the electorate at heart because they’re more interested in serving their financial backers.
Stood in an airport WHSmith, the title of Dennis C. Grube’s book Why Governments Get It Wrong And How They Can Get It Right grabbed my attention. As a Chartered PR professional, I’ve long lived by the rule that you can’t put lipstick on a pig so when I spotted the following quote on page three, I was sold.
“Despite the much-debated merits of ‘spin’, even good words can’t do much to save a bad policy.”
It’s an accurate introduction to an insightful, well evidenced read which sets out the fundamental blocks needed for Governments to successfully deliver public policy. However it pre-supposes one thing; that political leaders always want to do what’s best for their country.
In the week that the Conservative Party has scrapped the northern section of HS2, Britain's new zero carbon, high-speed railway, weeks after u-turning on their climate commitments, it’s hard not to conclude that sometimes - at least in the UK - the Government’s priorities lie not with making things better for society, but rather with its financial backers.
Either way, the premise of the book stacks up.
According to Grube, who is a professor in politics and public policy at the University of Cambridge and acting director of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, there are four ducks that have to line up in a row for politicians to have a shot at making policy work.
These are:
Problem definition. Harder than it might seem when this is “a combination of ideological worldview mixed with imperfect evidence, and then served up as urgent political action.” Problem definition is very subjective, so how one person might approach an issue can be very different to the next. It’s also fair to say that issues are often complex, with interrelated factors that don’t have one obvious, definitive solution.
Policy narrative. The story being told has to explain the problem in a way that connects with people. If the narrative doesn’t resonate, it’s highly likely the policy is doomed from the start. As any communicator will tell you, you can present facts to appeal to someone’s head, but engagement really comes from connecting with the heart.
Data and evidence. Grube describes this as another challenging area because “phrases like ‘data-driven’ and ‘led by the science’ have become tropes that politicians use to present themselves as making rational choices…evidence is never totally objective. Scientists and social scientists know this only too well, but politics struggles when confronted by such ambiguity.”
Policy intervention. If a policy is rolled out by a credible leader, with authenticity, and the problem definition, narrative and data all align, the chances are the policy will succeed. However, the weaker the alignment, the greater the chance of failure.
Grube’s book does what it sets out, which is to demonstrate that:
“The often-substandard policy solutions we live with every day are not in fact inevitable…Whether through providing the necessary money and resources, or a willingness to work through complexity and strip it back to what is actually at stake, extraordinary results are in fact possible."
It’s available now for £10.99 in all good book stores. Whether you’re an interested voter, or in the politics or communication game, I recommend giving it a read.