Voters here did not merely reject quangos; they treated them as a symptom of government ducking responsibility. Yes won nearly four to one, in a chamber where the case for central accountability was forceful, repetitive and almost entirely unopposed.
The floor’s most-respected Yes voice called quangos “unelected and often unaccountable bureaucrats”, while the highest-rated argument went further: “Yes, tired of the control they have.” Others attacked waste, red tape and what they saw as politicised bodies operating “without any responsibility”, with ministers expected to govern rather than hide behind arm’s-length decisions.
No voters left no argument at all, making the silence of the losing side part of the verdict. The debate’s sharper internal tension was on the Yes side: one voter proposed, “We should sat up a public body to look into this”, while another challenged the faith placed in Parliament, asking where MPs with “real life experience” were meant to come from.
That contradiction points to the wider issue: this was not simply a vote against public bodies, but against blurred lines of authority. The strongest recurring complaint was that “our politicians should start being accountable for, you know.... Politics?”, alongside darker claims that the system had become a refuge for vested interests, senior salaries and decisions nobody quite owned.
The room’s answer was blunt: fewer centres of power, clearer ministerial responsibility, and no more institutional places to hide.
17 Opinions
Yes, tired of the control they have. It should be government who make and act. Tony Blair destroyed the UK 20 years ago with these quangos
Vested interests always prevent any serious change with spurious arguments once they gain power. The only issue is accountability which our civil servants hate & our politicians love obscuring what they are actually doing. Parliament needs strong independent MPs who are talented & patriotic & able to properly bring the govt to account. Also there must be serious sanctions for Ministers & Civil Servants who works against our interests.
Quangos are a major problem today. Unelected and often unaccountable bureaucrats. Starkey makes a strong case for their abolition as an urgent necessity if we are to have any hope of national recovery.
We have been funnelling money into these waste of space for decades! We were running the empire with barely 5,000 people, using pen and paper, yet with computers and AI the modern UK Civil Service employs 557,825 people! It’s joke at every hard workers expense!
Arm's length was supposed to mean better less politicised decision making. But now bizarre political activism is inside every one of them and they seem to think they answer to nobody.
Yes, these unelected organisations have to much power and influence, and not enough accountability. A lot like politicians, I suppose…
Time to cut down public sector, especially when it acts without any responsibility. Money is short, we shouldn't multiply decision centres. Government is here to govern and take full responsibility for results.
I don't see how you can hold so many of these orgs accountable for their spending / budgets it's completely watering down our budgets and allowing more and more red tape to hide behind. Wild idea but maybe our politicians should start being accountable for, you know.... Politics?
They should be run by government ministers. They should be part of an English parliament.
We should sat up a public body to look into this .!