Every successful government has had what we might now term an ‘operating system’ by which we mean a culturally and technologically relevant way of effectively administering and governing society.

In 1945 it was a mix of Keynesianism and Fordism (based on the specialization of the assembly line) – which through systems of command and control governed the practice of politics, armies, public and the civil service as well as big corporations.

In 1964 the governing method was corporatism – the bringing together of government, unions and business to create tripartite plans, agreements and regulations.

In 1997 it was a mix of supply side reforms based around skills and education plus the New Public Management which formed the basis of the Party’s 13-year stewardship of the country.

What comes next is the subject of this project. The essence of the project will be to establish how the next government can devolve and share power, not just to places but in key sectors and the business community in the belief that only through the effective dispersal of power can the state and wider society, acting as partners, transform the country.