The gut-wrenching consequences of the Post Office scandal show the real world outcomes of unaccountable state power

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If the Post Office were a private company, it would have long ago gone bankrupt. The organisation wrongly accused hundreds of subpostmasters of theft, fraud and false accounting, dragged them through the courts in unfair and aggressive prosecutions, and then tried to cover it up. The real culprit, a buggy IT system called Horizon, should have been obvious from the start. Tragically, the evidence was ignored.

ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office compellingly illustrates how the Post Office’s actions led to what has been described as the biggest miscarriage of justice in British history. It ruined lives and livelihoods on an industrial scale and led to several suicides. The organisation's reputation is now rightly in the mud, and significant compensation is owed.

The directors and shareholders of a private entity which behaved in such a way would likely be forced to shut up shop. Instead, the taxpayer is bailing out the organisation, to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds. The Post Office will continue existing because, unlike a private company, it will not be allowed to fail and have its business taken over by competitors.

This scandal demonstrates a severe lack of accountability compared to the raw power held by the state. As I wrote in my CityAM column this week ([link removed]) , responsible ministers repeatedly ignored warnings about issues with the Post Office. They used the excuse that the organisation is an ‘arms-length body’ to fob off concerns.

This is a neat arrangement for ministers. The state devolves power, responsibility, and resources to hundreds of arms-length bodies. Then ministers can shirk responsibility when things inevitably go wrong. This dynamic has only worsened over time as the state has taken on more responsibilities, making it practically impossible to properly monitor for all the mistakes throughout the system.

The Post Office scandal has hit a nerve because it conveys a broader feeling that the system is unresponsive. Hundreds of other public bodies act with impunity and it’s time for greater accountability.

Matthew Lesh

IEA Director of Public Policy & Communications
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The Post Office scandal is a shocking example of how arms-length bodies allow government to escape accountability ([link removed])

Matthew Lesh, City AM ([link removed])

Miscarriage of justice… ITV’s new drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office laid bare the horror of the Horizon scandal and the real-world consequences of giving agencies too much power with too little accountability.
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** Book Club with Jennifer Burns
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Milton Friedman was one of the most influential economists of the twentieth century. His work was instrumental in the turn toward free markets that defined the 1980s, and his full-throated defences of capitalism and freedom resonated with audiences around the world.

In Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative, Stanford University historian Jennifer Burns tells Friedman's extraordinary story with the nuance it deserves. Join the IEA book club later this month when Professor Burns discusses her new book with Executive Director Tom Clougherty.
RSVP (mailto:[email protected]?subject=IEA%20Book%20Club%20with%20Jennifer%20Burns&body=Hello%2C%20please%20may%20I%20attend%20the%20IEA%20Book%20Club%20event%20with%20Jennifer%20Burns%3F)

Date: Monday 29th January

Time: 17:30 drinks, 18:00 discussion start

Location: IEA (2 Lord North Street, Westminster, London, SW1P 3LB)

Topic: Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative

Speakers:
* Tom Clougherty (Executive Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs)
* Professor Jennifer Burns (Author of Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative)


Format: Drinks reception & panel discussion

Dress code: Business casual or smart casual

RSVP: Please RSVP to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or call 020 7799 8910


** The Future of UK Trade Policy After Brexit
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What impact has Brexit really had on UK trade? Could new trade agreements – like the UK’s accession to CPTPP, a trade bloc covering 11 countries and over 500 million people – have a significant long-term impact? And what do changing attitudes towards globalisation – the rise of what The Economist calls ‘homeland economics’ – mean for the future of UK trade policy?

Join us at the IEA for a discussion of these and other trade-related issues.
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Date: Tuesday 30th January

Time: 17:30 drinks, 18:00 discussion start

Location: IEA (2 Lord North Street, Westminster, London, SW1P 3LB)

Topic: ‘The Future of UK Trade Policy after Brexit’

Speakers:
* Tom Clougherty (Executive Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs)
* Catherine McBride (Fellow at the Centre for Brexit Policy)
* John Springford (Associate Fellow at the Centre for European Reform)
* Julian Jessop (Independent Economist and Economics Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs)


Format: Drinks reception & panel discussion

Dress code: Business casual or smart casual

RSVP: Please RSVP to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or call 020 7799 8910
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