We interviewed nearly one hundred leaders – from prime ministers to central bankers, to local government leaders – who had spent a career trying to tackle the divides facing the UK. But there was only one person we felt that we had to come back to, and interview twice: the late Paul Roswell CBE.
As tributes from past and present Local Government Secretaries alike make clear, we were not alone in our esteem for Paul’s wisdom, knowledge, judgement and advice. For nearly four decades until his death last month, Paul led the Whitehall team responsible for governance reform and democracy in England. There is not one part of the country his work didn’t touch.
When we spoke to Paul, he set out his work from supporting the intervention against the Militant Tendency in Liverpool in the early 1980s; through to reforming local government finance through the Poll Tax and then Council Tax; to moving away from committee-led local government towards a leader and cabinet model; and finally supporting unitarisation and the creation of Combined Authorities over the past decade.
Paul described himself to us as being like “a scientist”. Reforming England meant overcoming an energy barrier, bringing together the ingredients for a chemical reaction but accepting you’ll need a “difficult period” to raise the energy, before the situation can truly shift. He ended his second interview with us by calling on leadership at all levels to focus on delivery and the big picture, rather than resisting the temptation of falling into pettiness and division.
When we asked Paul about the successes of his own career, he did not point to specific legislation, but to the turnaround of Liverpool. From starting his career facing people “seriously suggesting that we should just basically close down Liverpool”, he ended it with new, powerful and committed leaders driving reform across the country.
Paul was the best of the civil service: committed, thoughtful, discrete, and focused on improving communities wherever they may be. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues.
You can read our full interview with Paul here.