Magic Consultants

Original version

BBC Radio 4 FM

BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

BBC Radio 4

Radio 4

Radio 4 (FM)

Documentaries

Factual

28/03/2023

Adam Shaw peeks behind the curtain of the consultancy industry.

BBC Radio 4 LW

Magic Consultants: Affairs of State

Affairs of State

BBC Radio 4 - Magic Consultants, Affairs of State

How close is the relationship between management consultants and the government?

Where does the billions of pounds the government spends on consultants go and what are the pros and cons of this increasingly close relationship?

What is the relationship between governments and consultants?

Adam Shaw continues his recce behind the curtain of the billion dollar management consultancy industry. In this episode he finds out when consultants and the state started working so closely together, and asks if that partnership has become a little too tight. 

Be it getting man to the moon or rolling out the Covid vaccine, consultants have worked closely and successfully together. Bringing in expertise at the right time can be vital and cost effective. But how justified is the criticism that consultants are hollowing out the civil service, are they worth the billions we spend on them and are they ever conflicts of interest?

Adam sees a revolving door of consultants, business and government spin before his eyes; he traces the fine line between implementing policy and shaping it and asks if we are living in a consultantocracy, at risk of the industry undermining our democracy. 

With contributions from: Tamzen Isacsson, CEO of the Management Consultancies Association, Matthias Kipping, Professor of Policy at the Schulich School of Business, Andrew Sturdy, Professor in Management at The University of Bristol, Chris McKenna, Reader in Business History and Strategy at the Said Business School, historian Antonio Weiss and authors Rosie Collington and Eric Edstrom. 

Producer: Sarah Bowen

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Magic Consultants

Affairs of State

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 4 FM

About BBC Radio 4