The most basic parts of the UK government are “simply not functioning”, top Tory Michael Gove confessed today.
The long-serving former Cabinet minister - who was sacked by Boris Johnson two weeks ago - made the bombshell admission as Tory candidates ramped up blue-on-blue attacks in the leadership contest.
He told an event hosted by the Policy Exchange think tank: “My view is the state should do fewer things better - we need a strong and effective state, limited in what it chooses to do.
“I’m not a minimalist… I believe that there are certain central functions that the state needs to do better - and which we fail to deliver at the moment.
“There are some core functions - giving you your passport, your driving licences - which are simply at the moment not functioning.
“But there are also broader needs - huge issues, like defence procurement, or the way in which we invest in science and research and development - where a variety of bureaucratic impedimenta have accreted over time.
“And we are no longer providing people either with the efficient delivery of services, or the effective focus on what the state should do.”
It came amid a fresh wave of blue-on-blue attacks as MPs prepare to whittle down the candidates from four to three today.
Kemi Badenoch supporter Mr Gove added the Tories’ “sense of mission” and “confidence in our own arguments” has not been strong enough.
He added: “The most important argument is not whether or not we should pursue this tax cut or that, it is that the state should do.”
David Cameron ’s policy chief Camilla Cavendish - now a Crossbench peer - blasted the Tory party for being “stuck in a corner talking to itself wanting to make unfunded tax cuts - which Margaret Thatcher never did”.
Liz Truss has promised a wave of unfunded tax cuts, pledged to hike defence spending to 3% of GDP, but suggested she will avoid fresh austerity.
Baroness Cavendish told an event hosted by Policy Exchange: “I think the Conservative party has changed.
“Fundamentally. If the party doesn't do something about it, it is going to lose a lot of moderates like me. It has already lost a lot of moderates.
“David Cameron for a long time polled better in the country than the Conservative Party… he tended to poll much closer to where people actually were”.
Slamming Boris Johnson, she said: “We can't afford to have another prime minister who makes appointments on ideology or to protect themselves.”
And in a swipe at the leadership candidates she said: “Personally, I don't think that all of the candidates who are currently standing are capable of being across the detail that they should be.”
She warned there’s now a ‘really low bar’ for the next PM and urged them to focus on “national interest”.
But Charles Moore - Boris Johnson’s former boss - told the Policy Exchange event: “The way he won the last election was absolutely fabulous and most unusual and that should be borne in mind.”
And Boris Johnson ally Lord Frost warned more politics in the mould of David Cameron would mean “this country is headed for further economic decline and people switching off from politics as a result”.
Frustrated Baroness Cavendish told Lord Frost and Michael Gove: “Under you guys this stuff has fallen apart.
“So why haven’t you done something about it?
“I mean, literally, two of you have been in this government! For the last however many years!”
A government spokesperson said: “We are entirely focussed on delivering important public services as well as gripping key challenges we face, such as tackling backlogs, supporting people with the cost of living or leading the international response to the conflict in Ukraine.
“We continuously evaluate Civil Service performance to ensure taxpayers’ money is well spent and we are improving efficiency through our reform agenda.”
