This is a government that works for all, delivering an economy and society that works for everyone. At least that is the message Number 10 has been wanting you to hear since Theresa May entered Downing Street.
As we begin 2017, it is fair to say the government has been somewhat side-tracked in its efforts to turn this rhetoric into reality. From debate over what type of Brexit is to be favoured (hard, soft, grey, transitional) to judicial wrangling over whether Parliament should have a say in triggering Article 50, the government has struggled to steer the debate away from the UK’s impending exit from the EU and on to its domestic policy ambitions.
To date, this has left areas of May’s domestic agenda a bit of a blank canvas. We know that May and her team want to prioritise support for the ‘just about managing’ classes – or JAMs, as they have inevitably become known – but detail as to what this entails is currently lacking. In itself, this is no bad thing. It reflects May’s preference for working through the specifics of policy before announcements are made. It certainly represents a departure from recent administrations, where an announcement too often came first with the detail to be worked out afterwards.
However, if May’s government is to make its mark in terms of social reform, there is a general sense that the first few months of 2017 (before the triggering of Article 50) represent the best opportunity to set out an eye-catching agenda.
The government has started the year by announcing a raft of ‘Garden Villages’ and partnerships with local authorities to deliver Starter Homes. This suggests that policymakers recognise that the next few weeks are potentially their best window of opportunity to talk about something other than Brexit. Speculation prior to Christmas indicated that Number 10 would look to use January to structure a range of announcements setting out detail on the government’s domestic priorities – similar to Cameron’s approach at the start of 2016 to shape his domestic agenda. Expectations include speeches on May’s social policy priorities, the publication of a widely-trailed housing white paper and detail on what the government’s much-talked about industrial strategy will prioritise. How these reforms and proposals benefit the JAMs will be a core theme running across all domestic announcements.
For Cameron, of course, his efforts to shape the domestic agenda in 2016 never really got going – quickly eclipsed by Europe, the referendum and ultimately his resignation six months later. May and her team will naturally be hoping for better in 2017. However, if the resignation of Sir Ivan Rogers already this week tells us anything, it’s that this government risks being blown off course by Brexit at any given time.